Transposition in Monteverdi's VespersTransposition in Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610.pdf of 1610.pdf
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Transposition in Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610: An 'Aberration' Defended Author(s): Andrew Parrott Source: Early Music, Vol. 12, No. 4, The Early Piano I (Nov., 1984), pp. 490-516 Published by: Oxford University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3137979 . Accessed: 28/10/2013 17:38
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AndrewParrott
in Monteverdi's Vespers Transposition An'aberration' defended of 1610
'aberration',2 while others find the results revelatory.
3~~~~g
I Claudio Monteverdi: portrait by Bernardo Strozzi (1584-1644) (TirolerLandesmuseum Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck)
But if the very familiarityof the work makes objective assessment difficult, it has the advantageof focusing attention on a vital but neglected area of historical performancepractice, one of directrelevance to a host of less well-known pieces. With the release of my recording of the 1610 Vespers,3the time is obviously ripe for a detailed defence of the practice. Monteverdihas had the misfortune to be labelled a Baroquecomposer and a Venetian composer, despite the facts that he published six collections before the 17th century even began and that he worked in Mantua until he was 45. Consequently his music has often been viewed in a false light. Instrumentalwriting of the kind illustrated in ex.1 would perhaps have seemed unexceptional in its technical demands to a musician of the early 18th century; in 1610 it would undoubtedly have seemed revolutionary in its high tessitura. And there lies the crux of the matter.Do the high vocal and instrumentalranges of the Magnificat a 7 serve a new dramatic function through an (as it were)Beethovenianstretchingof existing conventions? Oris this all an illusion, caused by a trick of notation that would have ruffled none of Monteverdi's contemporaries?
Ex.1 Monteverdi, Vespers (1610), Magnificat a 7, 'Deposuit'
Ours is an essentially conservative musical climate, I (a) Cornett and attempts to reproduce historical styles of performance still tend to be viewed with suspicion. It is therefore not surprising that to transpose parts of a recognized masterpiece should be regardedby some almostas an act of heresy. I firstdirecteda performance of Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers in 1977, and on that (b) Violin I occasion,1 as on subsequent ones, the psalm Lauda Jerusalemand the Magnificat a 7 were given a 4th IA. below their writtenpitch. (Thediscussion that follows is quite independent of absolute pitch standards appropriateto Monteverdi'smusic: the issue is that of the relative pitch-levels of the various Vespers move-P ments.) Reactions to the idea of the transpositions 9) have been predictably mixed: one of our best-known Monteverdi conductors has described them as an
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LaudaJerusalemand the Magnificat a 7 lie consistently at a higher written pitch-level than the other Vespers movements, a fact which is reflected in (or caused by) the choice of a different set of clefs. These high clefs and what I shall call normalclefs are shown in ex.2. (The anachronistic terms chiavetteand chiavi naturalineed not be used.)4There are variants of both
Ex.2 High and normal clef configurations
S high clefs: A T B G2 C2 C3 F3
normal clefs: C1 C3 C4 F4
11D
C
sets of clefs, but the configuration in use may generally be identified quite easily from the clef of the lowest part:normal clefs have the bass clef (F4),while high clefs have baritone, tenor or even alto clef (F3 (=C5), C4 or C3). The presence or absence of a key signaturewith a particularclef or set of clefs can affect the implications for transpositionand will be indicated in subsequent examples by (6) or (-) after each clef. In his 1610 publication Monteverdiuses high clefs not only for these two movements but also for the alternativeMagnificata 6, and for the whole of the sixwhich takes pride of place in part Mass In illo tempore the collection.' Again we must ask whether the clefs simply reflect the composer's decision to write in a higher tessitura than elsewhere (perhaps in response to the texts) or whether the use of such clefs is the result of certaintheoretical conventions which, though of little consequence to the singer, acted as a clearly understood signal to the instrumentalistto transpose. Although an understandingof these general questions is fundamental to the performance of Renaissance polyphony, there has been very little serious research of practical value since the late 1940s, when Arthur Mendel published his findings.6 Performersfor the most part have been seemingly oblivious to the problems and editors have perpetuated this state of affairs by failing to produce transposed editions of high-clef works, perhaps because of a horror of offending certain 'scholarly' principles.
In this article I shall try to show that 'obligatory transposition' is implicit in the notation of much vocal music of the late 16th and early 17th centuries and that some of Monteverdi's music (notably Lauda Jerusalem and the Magnificat a 7) requires it. I shall suggest that downward transposition of a 4th brings those Vespers movements into line with what is known both of
contemporaryvocal types and of instrumental technique, and I shall therefore need to demonstrate that instrumentalistswere equipped to transpose. Finally,I shall speculate briefly on Monteverdi's reasons for choosing to notate certain pieces at what is, to us, the 'wrong' pitch. But before looking in any detail at Monteverdi's works, the considerable evidence for conventions of transposition during the period of the composer's lifetime (1567-1643) must be examined. I shall concentrate on Italian and Germansources; the latter(in particularthe writingsof Praetorius) are often concerned with Italian practices and are therefore an invaluable supplement. These sources fall broadly into three categories: theoretical writings, keyboard instruments and musical sources. Theoretical writings
In his Dimostrationi harmoniche (1571) the Venetian
composer and theorist Zarlinoconsiders the possible writtentransposition of each of his 12 modes either up or down an octave, or up a 4th or down a 5th; that is, to just one alternative level, if we exclude octave transpositions. Almost in parenthesis he comments: 'Noi altri Organistilo sapiamo, quanto sia di utile queste trasportationi:& come si possino fare' (We organists know how useful these transpositions are, and how they can be made).7Fora player fluent in all the clefs, transposition down a 5th is a simple matterof substituting one clef for another and of adjusting the signature;8an organist playing from a high-clef bass line written in C4 would, for example, imagine an F4 clef in its place (ex.3).
Ex.3
=
C1or f
-
The organist's concept of transposition as the alteration of written pitches by a particular interval was not shared by the singer of the 16th and 17th centuries, for whom written notes represented not fixed pitches but a series of intervallic relationships. The position of the clef and the presence or absence of a flat dictated where the semitones occurred among
the tones and hence the appropriate solmization. Cerone (1613) gives a table of those clefs that are equivalent in terms of solmization (ex.4) and comments: se Concluyremos pues quealgunasClaves, puntualmente parecen, en todolo quetocaal leer,y al hazerdelas masdilfieren Mutanqas; solamente en las letrasy posiciones; la qualdifferenqa (comodixe) no es de consideracion a cercadel Cantante; el qual no considera
EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 491
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otra cosa mas, que entonar sus vozes rectamente,con la de los intervalosde Tonoy Semitono. observacion
vi e necessanio intendere unaltrasortedi trasportationi perpoter al Choroin voce commoda, tanto nel Canto rispondere figurato, partede gl'Organi We mayconclude,then, that some clefs [withtheirsigna- quantonel Cantofermo.E perchela maggior si bisognache l'Organista thatconcerns lookexactlyalikein everything tures] reading sono alti, fuora del TuonoChoristo, accommodi sonare di un & una Terza bassa. strada, Tuono, fuor d and the placingof the mutations; they differsolely in the
this difference lettersandpositions[i.e.pitch-names]; (as I to the singer, whois concerned said)is of no concern onlyto the intervals of tones soundhis notes correctly, observing and semitones.9
Ex.4Cerone, El melopeoy maestro (Naples,1613), p.494
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Thus, if an organist chooses to accompany voices at a pitch other than the written one, he is involved in a transposition,but the singersarenot. (Forconvenience, the term 'transposition'is used in this article for vocal and instrumental music alike, but this distinction in procedure should always be understood.) This should not beguile us into thinking of the singer as someone unconcerned with pitch-level: as we shall see, several theorists are quite explicit in saying that the organist's transpositions are made precisely to suit the voices. The surprisingly wide range of intervals of transposition cultivated by organists in particular may misleadinglygive the impressionof completeflexibility. It is important,rather,to think of these transpositions as being in two separate categories which sometimes overlap:first, the largerintervals of transposition (of a 4th or 5th)necessary to reconcile most high-clef music with normal vocal ranges; second, those fine adjustments (of a tone) that take into account the tessitura of a particularwork or the pitch of a particularorganour main interest here is with the first category.Transposition of a minor 3rd may have been considered a combination of the two categories: a primarytransposition of a 4th, modified by a tone (and in some contexts transposition of a 4th consists of a primary transposition of a 5th adjusted by a tone). This division seems to be acknowledged by Diruta (1609),who devotes a chapter of his keyboardtreatise, Il transilvano,to 'la vera formatione, cognitione, e transportationedi tutti i Tuoni, si del Canto figurato,
come anco del Canto fermo: Cosa appartenente ad ogni Organista per lasciare in Tuono al Choro' (the true formation, recognition and transposition of all the Tones, whether of polyphony or of chant: a matter concerning every organist when he is giving the pitch to the choir).'0 After illustrating the Tones and their transpositions a 4th higher or 5th lower, he writes:
492 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
it is necessary to understand another sortof transposition in order to be ableto respond to the choirata convenient pitchlevel, whetherin polyphonyor in chant.Andbecausethe of organs are high and not at choir pitch, the majority organistneeds to become accustomedto playingoutside [theusual keys],a tone and a 3rdlower.11 Dirutathen gives short, two-voice musical examples in the 12 modes, each with one, two or three transpositions 'per commodita del Choro':except in the case of Tone 2, all the transpositions are downwards and, predictably,transposition down a 2nd or a (minor) 3rd is common. In Tones 5, 7, 9 and 12, where G2 clefs are used for the upper parts, the intervals of transposition are wider (down a 4th, 5th and, once, a minor 7th).12 Such transpositions were by no means new. 13 Galilei (1581) mentions in passing that 'i periti Organisti' (skilled organists) are accustomed to transpose 'per comodita del coro per un Tuono, o per una Terza,o per altro intervallo'(for the convenience of the chorus, by a tone, a 3rd or some other interval).14 But the full range of transpositions was not possible on instruments tuned in mean-tone temperaments.Cima(1606) recognized and attempted to solve the problem by giving directions for the wholesale retuning of accidentals for each semitonal transposition. (Althoughhe is addressing organists, his rules are for the tuning of 'un Clavicordo'.)
io di quanta importanzasia d gli Organisti, Conoscendo per de Cantori ne i concerti loro,il sapersonarein qualsi commodita m' parsolodevol delnostro Instrumento; voglialuogo,&intervallo con chesi possa agevolmente cosa darein luceil modo; far questa lo mostra chiaroil sia necessaria, prattica... Et chequestapratica famoso Zerlino [sic] nel quarto libro delle sue Institutioni al capitolo17 armoniche Recognizingas I do how importantit is for organists to know
andinterval on ourinstrument howto playatanypitch-level it seemedto forthe convenienceof singersin theirconcerti, me laudableto makeknowna means by which one may is necessary . .. That thispractice easilyputthisintopractice
is shown clearlyin book4, chapter 17 of the famous Zarlino's Istitutioniharmoniche.15 Even if Cima's recommended procedure is impracticable for organs-and no other musician or theorist of the Baroque is known to have described it-he does unequivocally expect organists to be able to play in the remoter keys.
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' alla quarta, di queltuono.Trasportar Each untransposed Tone and its prescribed trans- mai mostrala naturalezza e tal voltauna vocepiu' e commodo di tutti: position admitted of a few specific accidentals only. In quinta,e pid naturale, 6 convien veder ed in somma szi; quel piuzproprioe the Intonationi d'organo(1593) by Andrea and Giovanni gil, piuz e non chepretendono tuono: come alcuni, fanno conferente d quel Gabrieli,16 there are therefore just six different acciin s'io alla suonar tuono corda; perche disputar potessi ogni ogni dentals altogether: B natural, the flats on B and E and ed error loro. mostrarei l'impropietd, lunga, gli the sharps on F, C and G. Certain transpositions, Finally, one must know how to transpose pieces from one though, inevitably introduced further, unfamiliar accito another so that all the consonances are correct, degree dentals such as A flat and D sharp. The occasional and proper to the given Tone. Otherwise one must not written appearance of these new keys in vocal polytranspose, because, as I have sometimes observed, it makes phony had already drawn adverse comment from a very disagreeable sound [, for example,]to transpose a first Zarlino (1558)17 and Galilei (1581),18 though Rodio or second Tone, naturally pleasing because of its many B (1609)19 explains how singers can simplify the solflats, to some degree whose Tone requiresB natural;it will be mization process by substituting high for normal clefs difficult [even] for the careful player to avoid stumbling and vice versa. Cerone (1613) summarizes the position against some conflicting note. And thus, the ensemble is as follows: spoiled and the listeners are offended with such crudity, while the naturalcharacterof the given Tone never appears. Losquales[accidentales son mas usados aunque extraordinarios], de los Organistas conel Choro, mejor paraaccomodarse quede los Most natural and convenient of all is transposition by a 4th sus obras,por la difficultadque or 5th, and sometimes a note higher or lower; in short, one Compositores para componer 6 must see which is most appropriateand suitable to the given de vertantosBe moles,y tantosBequadrados tienenlos Cantores .. de cantar de las cuerdas ordinarias; todas Sostenidos, Tone, not as some do who pretendto play everyTone at every y fuera las JSequencias] estanconesta bsefialen unasola level, for if I could argue at length, I would show them their queapuntadas 6 con su Octava, son las accidentales mas improprietyand error.21 posicionde befabemi, usadasde los Compositores. Digomasusadasde los Compositores, We should note here the emphasis given to the 'basic' todas indifferentemente porquantode los eccelentesOrganistas intervals of transposition: a 4th, 5th and tone. son praticadas y usadas:es asaver,quandouno y quandootro,y If none of these Italian theorists unequivocally estosegunel Tono alto 6 baxodel Organo, deaquel usandosiempre associates downward transposition and high-clef que sale mas comodopara el Choro. there may be good reason. First, as I have music, are used These [extraordinary more accidentals], though, by organists to suit the choir better than by composers in shown, the concept of transposition did not exist for composing their works, because of the difficulty singers the singer, and thus the theoretical writing on singing have when they see so many flats and so many naturals or does not touch on the subject. Second, organists sharps and have to sing on unfamiliar staff-degrees;... all themselves may perhaps have scarcely regarded such the [species] that are notated with a single B flat, or with its manoeuvres as transposition-they, too, thought octave, are the accidental ones most used by composers. I largely in terms of solmization syllables-and in any say most used by composers, because all [the above case were so thoroughly schooled in the art of transpositions] are practised and used equally easily by transposition for the purpose of accommodating vocal excellent organists: that is, now one and now another ranges that the need would have been obvious. None according to the high or low pitch of the organ, always using of the Italian theorists concern themselves with exthe one that best suits the choir.20 plaining exactly when transpositions are necessary; Clearly there was resistance to the use of complicated they merely assert that they are indeed necessary and keys in vocal notation. In Agazzari's essay on continuo advise how to make them. playing (1607) we may also detect a reaction against It is Praetorius (1619) who, in characteristically the remoter unwritten transpositions sometimes thorough and practical fashion, clarifies the matter: practised: le Cantilene da un Finalmenteconvienesaper anco trasportare Obzwar ein jederGesang, welcherhoch Claviret das ist da im Linivonobenan zu zehlen, tasto ad un 'altro,quando perd vi sono tutte le consonanze naturali, Bass das I, uff deranderoderdritten Linialso wird; e proprie di quel tono; perche altrimenti non si debbon trasportare, oderdas 9 uffderdritten Wenner befunden perche fa brutissimo sentire, come io alle volte ho osservato, che b mol, per quartaminferioremin durum;Wenn er aber dur, in dieTabulatur trasportando un primo, over secondo tono, che sono di natura per quintaminferioremin mollem, naturaliter Lauttenisten und allen andern, die soave, per le molte corde di B. molle, in qualche tasto, ch ' suo tuono oderPartiturvon Organisten, unnd sia di B. quadro, difficilmente chi suona, esser tanto cauto, sich der Fundament Instrumentengebrauchen, gebracht potra, muss:So befindet sich doch,dass in etlichen che non inciampi in qualche contraria voce; e cosi vien d guastarsi transponiretwerden Modis,Als in Mixolydio,Aeolio undHypojonico,wennsie per il conserto, et offender ludito de gl ascoltanti con tal crudezza anzi
a
EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
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the importance of downward transposition of a 4th and 5th in association with highclef bass parts but also gives various transpositions for normal-clef bass parts. Similarly, Bismantova's Compendio musicale (1677-9) gives instructions as part of Everyvocal piece in high clefs, i.e., where the bass is written the 'Regole; p[er] suonare il Basso Continuo',27 for in C4 or C3, or F3, must be transposed when it is put into transposing down a 4th and a 5th (although without tablatureor score for players of the organ, lute and all other reference to high clefs) and proceeds to describe other foundation instruments, as follows: if it has a flat, down a transpositions. Later, Samber (1707)28 specifically 4th in durum,but if it has no flat, down a 5th in mollem, associates the high-clef notation of 'old Introits, naturaliter. Yet if some modes, e.g. Mixolydian,Aeolian and Graduals and Counterpoint-Masses' with downward Hypoionian, are transposed by a 5th, a duller and worse (when the lowest clef is F3, by a 4th; harmonyis produced because of the lower sounds; hence it transposition when C4, by a 5th). And much later still, Paolucci is much better, and the piece becomes much fresher and more spiritedto listen to, if these modes aretransposed by a (1772)29 gives examples from Palestrina, Benevoli and Colonna of high-clef music and calls for transposition 4th, ex duroin durum.22 down a 4th or 5th. Later, in a section on organ continuo, these principles are taken almost for granted: Keyboardinstruments Dieses aber muss sonderlichallhier observiret und in acht Fromthe theoretical material we move to the second welche Mixolydij, dass in denen Gesdngen, genommenwerden, categoryof evidence, which though small is significant: in inferiorem und (weiles in the nature of certain 16th- and Hypojonici Modi, quartam AEolij early 17th-century und derQuint wie obenangezeigt. seyn m6chte, allzuschldfferig instruments. this section a brief departkeyboard (For sonderlichuffn in der Quartsich etwas frischerund anmutiger, ure from the restrictions to Italian and self-imposed Instrumentenhorenlest)transponiretwerden, fornan beydem German seems practices justified.) Clave Signata 9 die Diesis # bezeichnet. The notion that downward transposition, in partiButthis especially must be observed and taken note of here: is cular that of a 4th, regularly required in the that in those songs which, [being] in Mixolydian, Aeolian Renaissance and early Baroque and Hypoionian modes, are to be transposed a 4th lower performance of late (because down a 5th, as shown above, maybe too sleepy, and music receives strong support from the disposition of down a 4th sounds rather fresher and more pleasant, the contemporary Flemish two-manual harpsichord. especially on harpsichords) a sharp is marked at the With a slightly patronizing air, Quirinus van Blankenbeginning beside the clef.23 burg (1739) looks back to the early 17th century: zo onervaren dat menom (We should note in passing the special importance of In die tyd was men in de Transpositie eenig spel een quart lager te honnen transponeren expreseen transposition down a 4th.) tweede clavierin de clavicimbelmaahte,Het schynt byzonder If Praetorius seems rather dogmatic, we must at least maart bewyst welhzeeraanmerhensweerdig is, zal't ongelooflyh, acknowledge that none of the Italian theorists contra- zelve bewaarheiden, datde vermaarde Rucherssen van'tbeginder dicts him in any way.24 A decade or so later, another voorlede eew af tot meerals 30 jarendaarna nietandershebben German theorist, Wolfgang Schonsleder (1631), gives a gemaaht complete set of high clefs (G2 C2 C3 F3) and declares Atthat time, they were so inexperienced in transpositionthat that he is 'amazed to see the majority of musicians in orderto be able to transpose a piece a 4th downwardsthey customarily writing many of their songs in them, made a special second keyboard in the harpsichordfor the although they know that if anyone wishes to sing them purpose. This seems incredible, but the proof, which is very remarkable,will show that the famous Ruckersfamily from they will have to be transposed downwards'.25 With the development of instrumental music, free the beginning of the last century for more than 30 years of vocal models, the concept of fixed pitches began to made nothing else.30 predominate; hence in due course the problem of On a normal double-manual Ruckers harpsichord the understanding the different notated pitch-levels of shorter upper keyboard stood at 'standard' pitch and earlier periods. But a tradition of performing this the lower one a 4th lower, with the upper c' key aligned with the lower f' and sounding the same strings. (Some earlier repertory would appear to have continued earlier organs may well have had a similar disposition.)31 through the 17th century, and, with it, the necessary skills of transposition. Penna's Li primi albori musicali Only one such harpsichord survives in its original
(1672)26 emphasizes 494 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
quintam transponiret, eine languidior & pigrior harmonia propter graviores sonos generiret werde:Darumbes dann ungleich besser,und wird auch der Gesangviel frischerund wenn diese Modi per quartamex duro in zuhdren, anmuthiger durum transponiret werden.
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.. . .
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Ak
2 Two-manualharpsichord by Joannes Ruckers, 1638 (Russell Collection, University of Edinburgh)
state, the 1638 Joannes Ruckersin the Russell Collection, EdinburghUniversity32 (illus.2), but more than a dozen others by members of the Ruckersfamily from before 1642, plus a 1646 Joannes Couchet, show signs of having originally been transposing instruments. Furthermore, although double-manual instruments without this feature can be shown to have been in existence by 1620, the earliest surviving example, by Hans Moermansthe Younger,dates only from 1642.33 So though Blankenburgmay not necessarily be right in regardingthe principal function of these instruments to be transposition,34 their nature clearly facilitates it. Other fragments of organological information also hint at the co-existence of two pitch standardsa 4th or so apartfrom each other. Althoughmuch of the history of the Italian harpsichordis still ratherobscure, it has been plausibly suggested that surviving instruments were built at pitches a 4th or 5th apart;35 unfortunately the issue is complicated by the fact that strings of brass and steel imply different optimumpitch-levels.36 Clearlythere was great diversityof pitch standard;but, equally clearly, there was broadunderstandingof how these pitches were related. Banchieri (1608), for ex-
ample, in tuning an organ or 'strumento da penna' (quilled keyboard instrument), recommends starting with an F, 'quella si pone in tuono della natura dell'instromento in voce corista overo un tuon piu" basso overo 4. superiore, o inferiore'(which you set at the naturalpitch of the instrument, [whether]at choir pitch or a tone lower or a 4th higher or lower).37 Similarly,Praetoriusdescribes the spinettaas being an octave or 5th above 'normal' pitch3 and labels his woodcut of a harpsichord'Clavicymbel,so eine Quart tieffer als Chor-Ton'(Harpsichord,a 4th lower than choir pitch).39 There were also some single-manual keyboard instruments that could be set at different pitch-levels. A Venetian harpsichord now in Cambridge, probably 16th-century,seems to have had a third set of strings of a different scale from the others and possibly tuned a tone higher,40 while a 17th-centuryregal in the Heyer Collection had a keyboard that could be shifted by a tone.41 The principle of the sliding keyboard was evidently known in Germanyas early as 1537,42 and Carl Luython's clavicymbalum universale,which Praetorius describes,43had a keyboard(with 19 keys to the
EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 495
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octave) that could be set in any of seven positions, covering a major 3rd. A little later G. B. Doni (1635)44 mentions a harpsichordby a Florentinemaker,lacopo Ramerino, 'nel quale ingegnosamente con muover solo la chiave del Registro,l'istesse corde servirannoal tuono di Roma, a quel di Firenze, & a quel di Lombardia' (in which, ingeniously, just by moving the the same strings will give you the pitch of register Rome, that of Florence and that of Lombardy). Discrepancies in musical sources Having discussed theorists and instruments, we now turn to the third category of evidence: the musical sources. Numerous instances could be cited of works (masses and other cyclic compositions) with some movements in high and some in low clefs, producing implausibly wide vocal ranges (e.g. Palestrina'sfourpart Missa de beata Virgine (1567),45 Le Jeune's threesection 'Aeolian' piece from his Dodecacorde (1598)46 and Landi's II Sant'Alessio(1634).47 These certainly suggest the need for transposition but do not provide conclusive proof of it, so I shall confine this discussion to examples that offer more explicit evidence. Occasional discrepancies between keyboard intabulations and their vocal counterparts suggest a pattern of transposition consistent with Praetorius's rules. Forexample, a version in organ tablatureof the dolori Kyrieand GloriafromJacob Handl'sMissa Adesto meo'lies a 4th lower than the original, which uses the clefs G2 G2 C2 C3 F3 (b).48 Printed anthologies of intabulations confirm that such transpositions are not made simply to accommodate the pitch of a particular instrument. The first section of Bernhart Schmid's 1577 collection49 contains 20 works: 19 motets and a chanson. Of the eight originally notated in high clefs, four remain untransposed, two are put down a 5th and two down a 4th. (Thetwo down a 5th have no signature in the original;of the two down a 4th, one has a flat, the other does not.) There are no obvious reasons for this inconsistency of approach to high-clef music. Jacob is rathermore revealPaix'svolume of six years later5" ing. Of 24 motets, seven in normal clefs are untransposed, while 16 in high clefs aretransposeddown a 4th or a 5th. (Ofthese, all 12 with a flat signature are down
a 4th, whereas the four without are transposed down a 5th.) Only one piece with high clefs is left untransposed. It could be argued that all these intabulations are independent of their models and that any adjustments of pitch are merely examples of editorial taste. Against this must be set the very considerable number of
496 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
differences of pitch-level that occur not between different sources but within a single piece. Publications for lute and voices are invaluable in this respect; a vocal part may be notated in one key, while the tablature of its accompaniment implies another. (Adriaenssen'sPratummusicum(1584) gives intabulations of high-clef works generally down a 4th but sometimes down a 5th.)5"The Roman publisher Simone Verovioissued several collections which offer examples of both lute and keyboardversions alongside their vocal originals. The first of these, Diletto spirituale (1586) contains 21 three- and four-voice devotional pieces, each printed in parts on a left-hand page, and opposite them, versions for keyboardand for lute in G (illus.3).52There is a clear pattern of transposition, identifiable in this case from the clef of the top part and the signature: when the clef is Cl, there is no transposition,when it is G2(-),transposition is down a down a 4th. (Thesingle exception 5th, and when G2(b), which may be an error:Nanino's Jesus in pace imperat, has a G2 clef, has a transposed lute intabulationbut an untransposed keyboardversion.) The secular music of Verovio's similar Lodi della musica (1595) follows exactly the same system; of the 18 items 9 are The six madrigals'percantarnel Chittartransposed.53 rone' in Salamone Rossi's first published collection54 also follow this pattern. The tablature for chitarrone (in A)matches the pitch of the four that use Cl and F4 clefs, whereas the two that use G2 and F3 clefs (6) appear a 4th lower in the tablature. Although most organists would have been fluent in at least a few transpositions,written-outtranspositions in staff notation are not uncommon. Among the solo items of the Cento concerti ecclesiastici (1602) of are six which, exceptionally, have Lodovico Viadana55 the voice partin a high clef (G2for soprano,C2for alto, and C3 for tenor, all (b)),written a 4th higher than the organ part.Thereare comparableexamples elsewhere in the collection, among the works for several voices. Similarly, two isolated items in G. F. Anerio's Antiseu sacraecantiones(1613)have organcontinuo phonae, parts a 4th below the voice parts,56 and in the set of the followMagnificatspublishedby Johann Stadlmayr ing year, there is one in high clefs with its two organ
parts notated a 4th lower.57 We now come to the music of Heinrich Schfitz, who studied in Venice with Giovanni Gabrieli and later perhaps also with Monteverdi himself, and whose substantial output is particularly valuable in establishing principles of transposition. His setting of
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3 From Diletto spirituale, published by Simone Verovio, Rome (1586);for voices (left), keyboard (top right),and lute (bottom right)
is in fact a reworking Psalm 111, Ich danhedemHerrn,58 of Giovanni Gabrieli's double-choir madrigal 'per cantar et sonar', Lietogodea a 8;19in the original each choir has the high-clef configuration G2 C2 C3 F3(-), while in Schfitz's version the clefs are Cl C3 C4 and the music is a 5th lower. Morerevealing still C5(b) is the notation of Schitz's Musicalische Exequien (1636), where the voices are in high clefs (in A minor),but the continuo part is printed a 4th lower (in E minor).60 Schfitz himself explains:
zum Vorteil, und Den Bassum Continuumhabeich denSangemrn zu diesen Werche zu beriirung derenauffder Orgel mirgefalligen mir chorden eine Quarta niedriger transponiret, ohngeachtet nicht ohnwissend,dass ad Quintam inferius, es auff der Orgel hommen, damit auch vielleicht den ohngeibten natuirlicher eines theils bessergedienetgewesen were. Organisten
explaining the transposition as a step taken 'for the benefit of the singers'. But the point at issue is that he is taking for granted downwardtransposition by a 5th for a work in high clefs (without signature);he thinks, however, that in this case the pitch then becomes too low for his singers and so he transposes down by a 4th instead, thus making things more difficult for 'the inexperienced organist', who now has to read a part We find with the still unusual signatureof one sharp.61 the same transposition down a 4th (fromA minor to E
minor) in the seventh of the Zwolf geistliche Gesange (1657),62 where the vocal partsare notated in high clefs
(withoutsignature)and the organparthas one sharp.It is perhaps a little surprisingthat in the second half of the 17th century Schfitz should still expect singers to be aware of the transposing convention and to prefer Butthere is one important to havethe chords to avoid a sharp signature.63 Forthe benefitof the singersandin order in this workplayedon the organ,I havetransposed additional feature: the work is explicitly headed 'ad I prefer I amwellaware that Quarteminferiorem'(a 4th lower). thebassocontinuodowna4th,although on the organa 5thlower, it wouldgo morenaturally thereby organist. Instructions in musical sources making thingseasierforthe inexperienced perhaps At first glance, it may seem that Schfitz is simply We have seen examples of discrepancies between two
EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER1984 497
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independent sources (suggesting a convention of transposing) and of discrepancies within a single source (revealing the clear necessity of transposing). In a last glance at the evidence of contemporary musical sources, we turn to those which contain explicit instructions or advice on the subject. The earliest example would appear to be from the first publication of sacred music to include a basso continuo, Viadana'scollection of 1602, alreadycited.64
the player,and we have alreadynoted two examples in his seusacraecantiones wherea transposition Antiphonae, is writtenout. The collection is an exceptionally large one and therefore of exceptional value in assessing Of the 244 works, 37 use any systematic approach.67 these are all marked 'Allaquarta'or 'Alla4' high clefs; in the bassus ad organumpartbook and no other interval of transposition occurs. A further 14 items have the rubric'sonate come sta' (play it as it stands); There the third and fourth items, Fratres,ego enim accepi these are works, without vocal bass and with the continuo part in a C4 clef, which might otherwise and its second part Accipite et manducate, are intended for 'Canto solo over cornetto', while the organ part appear to be high-clef pieces needing transposition. (writtena 4th lower)bears the rubric'Sonando questo The importanceof three features of Anerio'scollection sonarala quartaalto cannot be over emphasized. First,the complete conConcertoco'l Cornettol'Organista cosi' (When playing this concerto with cornett, the sistency of clef and transposition:all high-clef pieces organist will play a 4th higher, thus); there follow the are to be transposed, and none of those in normal first few notes a 4th higher. In other words, the piece clefs. Second, the exclusive importance of transmay be performedeither vocally (at the lower pitch) or position by a 4th, whichever clef is used for the continuo part (C3, C4 or F3); Verovio's and others' instrumentally(at the higher pitch). CasparVincentius evidently preferredto leave cer- distinction between pieces without signature (down a tain options of transposition open to the organist. In a 5th) and those with one flat (down a 4th) is not preface to the bassusgeneralispartpreparedby him for observed here. Third,the implication contained in the Schadaeus'santhologyPromptuarium phrase 'sonate come sta' that a bass part in a C4 clef part2 of Abraham musicum(1611) he writes: would automatically suggest transposition to a keyboard player. sed in descriptione nulldusus sum harmoniarum transpositione: A slightly more complicated but consistent picture extant, Quilibet reliquiClavibus. singulasin suis, ut in exemplari et from a study of Polyhymniacaduceatrix emerges signatas igitur pro suo lubitu, praesertimhac Clavi 9 collection Praetorius's Michael large (1619), panegyrica Praeterea vel perQuintam velper Quartam cantiones, transponat Calculi of polychoral music68 issued in the same year as the atqueinstrumentorum organorum quia in his regionibus musicum.There are eight ne in duro tertiam majorem last volume of his Syntagma sive Claves ita conficiuntur, esse all without signature,and in sibi notated works habeamusOrganista clefs, imaginabitur high facile • clavem, - & habebitQuintam is the in the of these all but one inferiorem. bassusgeneralis against or 4th inferiorem' vel instruction (a 'quartam quintam of the pieces, but in the I havenot used anytransposition Aus 15 and nos. In notes 5th 16, tiefer lower). preceding I haveleftthemallin theirclefs,astheystandin the notation the composer reiterates the Not and Nun freut euch,69 a either he as So, by pleases may transpose originals. anyone in his made treatise70that here transposition thosecantiones 4thora 5th,especially givenwiththe C4clef point must be made, the former being 5th a 4th or down or calculi the because Furthermore, keys (without signature). in in these areasareso designed betterfor the voices. The exception, no.6, AlleinGott of organsand harpsichords the derH6hsei Ehr,the Lutheranversificationof the Gloria, 3rdin4 duro thatwedo nothavethe major [i.e.aboveB4], andwill is simply marked 'per quartam inferiorem', and in a the clef C4(-)to be F4(b) willeasilyimagine organist havethe lower5th. Missa:0 Vater separate note preceding no.5, Teutsche we may discover why transposition Gott, allmdchtiger Casually read, this may appear to suggest that trans- down a 5th is here ruled out: position is at the player'sdiscretion; but it is only the
choice of interval (a 4th or 5th) that is in fact free. Vincentius sees no point in notating a transposition of a 5th when this can easily be achieved by a simple clefsubstitution and prefers to avoid those transpositions of a 4th which introduce the tuning problems of sharp keys.66 In contrast, G. F. Anerio seems to leave no choices to 498 EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
In den Kirchen,do das Gloria vor dem Altar gesungen wird, muss man das (Preissei Gott)aussen lassen, und sobald das Allein Gott a 6 & 12 anfangen. Aberes muss um eine Quart in derHoh sei Ehr, damit es in den rechten Ton mit dem musicirt werden, tiefer vorhergehendenKyrie. 0 Gott Vater, Christe,etc. fiberein homme.
In churches where the Gloriais sung in front of the altar,one
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4 Musicians in a gallery: brown wash and ink drawing by Domenico Canuti (1620-1684) (Pierpont Morgan Library,New York)
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mustomitthe Preis sei Gott andimmediately on the ear. begintheAllein pleasantly Gott inder Hoh a 6 and 12;butit mustbe performed seiEhr a All this may appear to indicate a new level of 4thlower, in pitch[orkey] so thatit agrees withthepreceding sophistication; but 80 years earlierGalilei (and before 0 GottVater, etc. Christe, Kyrie, him Bermudo)had expected 'skilled organists' to be In other words, if the Kyrie(which is in normal clefs) familiarwith these various intervals of transposition. and Gloria (in high clefs) were to match in key, Whatis new is that the composer's own precise wishes avoiding a downward shift of a tone, the interval of are made explicit. (Thisin itself may perhaps suggest a greater degree of pitch standardization than in the transposition was necessarily a 4th, not a 5th. Comparable instructions, though without elabor- earlier period.) Superficially, it may be taken to i undermine the simple principle that high-clef music ation, are found in Schiitz's Kleine geistlicheConcerte, (1636).Here,the only three pieces writtenin high clefs, be transposed to the 'normal'level. In fact, by allowing all without signature, are to be transposed down a 4th subtle adjustmentsto individualpieces (whileretaining or 5th, accordingto instructions given in the continuo a relatively simple notation), it reinforces the idea of For what- small, well-defined ranges for each category of voice part (e.g. 'Organumad quartaminferius').71 everreasons, there mayhave been an increasingdesire and thereby the absolute necessity of reconciling or need for composers and publishers of the 17th high- and normal-clef music. The two categories of century to be more explicit about the intended pitch- transposition described above have merely merged. levels of their music. The substantially revised 1661 In other words, where some composers would confine transposition of a reprint of Schfitz's PsalmenDavids op.5 (the Becker themselves to indicating 'obligatory' make smaller adjustor to 5th, leaving organists Psalter),72 originally published at Freiburg in 1628, 4th and allow for so on, here vocal range strongly hints at such a change of approach, and ments of pitch to the smaller several errors suggest a last-minute change of policy Schiitz for normal-clef pieces suggests he gives only concerning the method of presenting the various adjustments, while for high-clef pieces for a 4th down 'resultant' the example, and transposition, over in clefs 30 With high psalms transpositions."3 100 transposition instructions, these 158 pieces prob- (obligatory)and a tone up (adjustment),producing a ably represent the richest surviving source of infor- downwardtransposition of a minor 3rd. Before finally focusing our attention on the music mation on this subject.74 In the publication as a whole, which contains of Monteverdi,it will be as well to look back briefly at severalnew items, transpositiondown a 4th is indicated the evidence so far presented. FromZarlino (1571) to 35 times, with transposition down a 5th (as a second Cerone(1613)the theorists merelytell us that organists option) 17 times; each is almost alwaysassociated with should be capable of transpositions (often quite (1619)explains exactly transposition down complex ones), while Praetorius high-clef notation. Appropriately, a 3rd (which occurs 17 times, eight of them with high where transposition down a 4th or a 5th is necessary. clefs) is mostly a second option and is often marked The fact that almost all two-manual Flemish harpsiAdjustmentsof chords before the mid-17th century incorporated 'proexercitatis'ifor the experienced).75 a tone are also frequent; upwards 12 times and two different pitches a 4th apart emphasizes the downwards29 times. (It could be arguedthat the quite importance of transposition by a 4th. Keyboardand high incidence of transposition down a tone is related lute intabulationsfrombefore 1600 show transposition to the rather high pitch of Germanorgans; Praetorius of high-clef pieces down a 4th and a 5th (and also suggests this transposition for music of a wide sometimes a tone), while organ continuo parts from The purpose of these Viadana (1602) to Schitz (1657) reveal written-out rangewhere the cantus is high.)76 various transpositions is explained by Schiitz in a note transposition down a 4th and instructions or recommendations for transposition down a 4th (notably in at the end of the bassus continuuspart: Anerio (1613)) and, to a lesser extent, a 5th. One of diesesWerchleins (bevorab solcheTranspositionenbeyGebrauch Schiitz's last publications (1661) shows a greater alleine nicht = in denenhoch gezeichneten offtermals Systematis) hochndtigsondernauch der CantorumStimmenbequem.und variety of interval of transposition, but is wholly consistent with the idea of bringing high-clef writing desto angenehm dem Gehor fallen. in down to the more normalwrittenlevels, a principle (or In using this little worksuch transpositions (especially but at least a practice) that was still familiar to Samber thosewithhighclefs)areoftennot onlyverynecessary voices andfall allthe more (1707) and even Paolucci (1765-72). forthe singers' alsocomfortable
500 EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
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Monteverdi's 1610 Mass and Vespers: Voices
Monteverdi's 1610 publication contains four pieces notated in high clefs: Table1 Mass LaudaJerusalem a7 Magnificat a6 Magnificat S G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 A C2 C2 C2 C2 C2
pueriis to be transposed (ex.5).Thus if the 1650Laudate down a 4th, should not the Magnificat a 6 follow its example?79 The 1610 Mass, as we have observed, is notated in T B such a way as to suggest downwardtransposition by C3 C3 F3 (-) either a 4th or a 5th. The ranges of the work would C3 F3 F3(-) clearly seem to rule out the lower option because of C3 C3 F3 F3(b) the lower extremities of each voice (ex.6). They do, C3 C3 F3 (b) Ex.6 Vocal ranges in Monteverdi, Mass In illo tempore (1610) S B A T (&F3)77
I 1 A I
A A0* 0-
I A A
-
There are no instructions for transposition and the bassus generalis is consistently at the written pitchlevel of the other parts. Following Praetorius'sclearcut rules, the continuo player should play the Mass either a 5th or a 4th down, and the and Lauda Jerusalem two Magnificats a 4th down. (In practice, smaller intervals of transposition, of a tone and a minor 3rd, are perhaps feasible for the Magnificat a 6 but would place the virtuoso obbligato instrumental writing of the related Magnificat a 7 in wholly unacceptable keys; for LaudaJerusalem,and perhaps even for the Mass, transposition down a minor 3rd cannot be completely ruled out.) But does Monteverdi'smusic in general show any evidence of conforming to the conventions we have found documented and practised by Praetorius and others? In the large posthumous collection of Monteverdi's church music (1650) is a setting of Laudate pueri'a 5 notated in the clefs and signature of voci da Capella'78 the two 1610 Magnificats (G2 C2 C3 C3 F3 (6))and in the same key (G minor). Here the basso continuopart contains the unambiguous instruction 'Alla quarta Bassa'. Whether or not this was originally the composer's own marking,the suggested transposition was clearly considered reasonable by his editor (or at least by the user of the copy which the publisher had acquired).A comparison of the writtenvocal ranges of this psalm and of those of the Magnificata 6 reveals a predictablesimilarityand an identical overallcompass
Ex.5 Vocal ranges in Monteverdi, (a) Laudate pueri (1650) and (b) Magnificat a 6 (1610)
S A
A
FI
The ranges in square brackets are those of the extra parts which appear in the Crucifixus (alto) and' final Agnus Dei (bass).
however, match those of the 1650 Laudate pueri sufficiently for a performance at the same pitch as that, i.e. down a 4th, to be plausible. This possibility receives very strongsupportfrom two musical sources. In his Esemplareossia saggio fondamentalepraticodi sopraun cantofermoof 1775 the eminent contrappunto musical historian G. B. Martini quotes the Agnus Dei a 6 of Monteverdi's 1610 Mass down a 4th,80and in Bresciathere exists an organ score by LorenzoTonelli from the late 17th or early 18th century of the complete Mass, also a 4th lower.8' we have no such corroborative ForLaudaJerusalem evidence. Ex.7 compares its vocal ranges with those of other movements of the 1610 Vespers. To leave Lauda
and (b) other movements
(a) S I I
Ex.7Vocal in Monteverdi, Jerusalem ranges Vespers (1610), (a)Lauda
A .1 i T B I
(b)
A
A A * i ( I&
(0-) A - A (A *& > % * * W
Excluded are the motets (except the portion a 6 of Audi coelum) and, of course, the two high-clef Magnificats. Conflations have been made, since Monteverdi sometimes has more than one alto and bass part and also more than two tenor parts; but such doubles tend to move in the same range.
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l
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i
i
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In this and subsequent examples, the notes in parentheses occur once only.
Jerusalem at its writtenpitch is to expand ranges which are alreadywide for the period by a small but critical amount; all except the tenor and second bass would extend above their ranges elsewhere in the Vespers. But if the psalm is transposed down a 4th, all its ranges (apartfrom two unique low notes in the alto part)are contained within the extremities of those found elsewhere. Ex.8, which compares these transposed ranges with those of the Mass and of the 1650 Laudate
EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 501
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downa 4th,in (a)Lauda Jerusalem Ex.9 Vocal ranges in Monteverdi, Magnificat a 7 (1610), (a) as Ex.8Vocalranges,transposed downa 4th (1610),(b) Mass In illo tempore (1610) and (c) Laudatepueri (1650) notatedand (b)transposed
(a) S
WeI I
A
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i
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(a] I
S I A-)
A I -0-
T 0I j
B 1
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*The (low) written d occurs only once but is sustained.
pueri,shows a similarly telling consistency. Although here the evidence is suggestive ratherthan conclusive, is intended to be performedat Jerusalem surely Lauda the lower pitch.82 Despite the logic of these arguments,the readermay well find that the evidence presented withers into insignificance when weighed againstthe auralmemory of the Vesperswith all sections at theirrelativenotated pitches. He may be tempted to protest that Monteverdi surely intended a new, high tessitura for his final psalm, and that to seek mere consistency in range may be to miss his point. No doubt these low ranges also prompt other questions. What happens to all the at the low brilliance and brightness of Lauda Jerusalem pitch-standardperhapsmuch pitch?Was Monteverdi's higher than our present a'=440? The twin subjects of voice-types and pitch-standardsin early 17th-century Italian music each require at least as much attention as do the conventions of transposition, and this is clearly impractical in the present article; moreover, they should not be allowed to confuse the issue of transposition, which is essentially quite distinct. Consideration of the topic may become easier, however, if the different voices are not thought of in terms of the modern SATBchoir. In particular,Monteverdi'saltos at Mantua are more likely to have been of the usual Renaissance type (i.e. what we call high tenors) than the falsettists or castrati who superseded them, while the contemporarytenor corresponded in range if not in timbreto our baritone.Greateremphasis on naturalness of diction and less on sheer power of singing, combined with a general fondness for low sonorities, encouraged vocal ranges lower than those familiarto us from the music of later eras. Nowhere is familiarity such a barrier to comprehension as in the case of the celebrated Magnificata 7 with which most modern concert performancesof the 1610 Vespers close. Its untransposed and transposed
502 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
voice ranges are given in ex.9. The lower set scarcely seems designed to create the brilliant climax that we may have come to expect of the work, but it does accord closely with the ranges of the two high-clef works by Monteverdifor which we have evidence of transposition: the 1650 Laudatepuenrand the 1610 Mass. If the presence of a low A for tenor causes some surprise, one need look no furtherfor precedent than to the solo tenor writing in Audicoelumfrom the same but such a note is rare in Monteverdi's publication;83 liturgicaloutput.84(Inhis 1614 collection Caccinigoes much further: he includes 'due Arie Particolari per Tenore, che ricerchi le corde del Basso' (two special arias for tenor which explore the bass register), The abandon combiningtenor and (low)bass ranges.85) with which Monteverdi appears to call for (low)Ds in the vocal bass may cause rathermore surprise.But in addition to those arising from transposing the 1650 Laudate pueriand 1610 Mass,there are instances in five polyphonic worksfrom the i 640 collection86 and three from the 1650 collection."8Moresensational still, with dheirlow Cs and 16-note range up to d' are the solo motet Abaeterno88 and the role of Neptune in II ritorno Pluto's two-octave compass (Dcomparable d'Ulisse.89 a Mantuanworkdatingfrom d') in IIballodelleingrate,90 1608, exactly matches the 1610 Vespers bass range with transpositions. Clearlysuch solo writing is of a different kind from that of 'Etmisericordia'and 'Sicut erat', where transposition results in low Ds, but even such low, sober counterpoint is not without its equivalents, as comparisonwith the Gloriaa 7 (1640)91 shows (ex.10). How does transposition of the Magnificata 7 affect the ranges of the publication as a whole? Ex.11 gives the written ranges of all the polyphonic music in the the two Magnificatsand Jerusalem, Vespers.WithLauda the Mass transposed down a 4th, the results are those given in ex.12. The comparison perhaps proves little; in the transposed table the bass range is slightly narrower, the tenor range wider, while alto and
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Ex.10 Monteverdi, (a) Magnificat a 7 (1610),'Etmisericordia',at 'timentibus eum', transposed down a 4th, and (b) Gloriaa 7 (1640),at 'pax hominibus voluntatis', as notated
(a)
A__
(b)
A
_ _
_
_-r
r
r
-r
.
-8
-
. .cu
I F
'
m_
I o-o
Complete vocal ranges in the Vespers and Mass In illo Ex.ll11 tempore (1610) as notated
S A T B
* Here and in ex.12 void notes indicate extremities found only in the [(untransposed) 1610 Mass.
soprano are much the same. In fact, we may well be inclined to favourthe untransposedranges on account of their greaterfamiliarityfrom more recent music. It will therefore be of value to comparethese tables with a contemporary one, that given by Praetorius in Syntagmamusicum,ii (ex.13). (It may be tempting to postulate a higher pitch-standardfor Praetoriusthan
Ex.13 Praetorius, Syntagma musicum, ii, p.20
S A A
V)
Ex.12 Complete vocal ranges as in ex. 11, but with the Mass, Lauda Jerusalem, and Magnificats a 6 and a 7 transposed down a 4th
S
WJ ,OF
A - -- -• W
T W
T
B
B
*_ --
()
A -A)
* See n.92
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Ex.14 (a) Magnificat a 7 (1610), 'Quia fecit', transposed down a 4th, and (b) Gloria a 7 (1640), 'Qui sedes', as notated
Bass If
Qui Bass II
a
fe
1td
-
-(cit)
Qui
a
fe
-
(cit)
Bass I
Qui
se
-
des,
qui
se
-(des)
Qui
se
des
for Monteverdi,yet Praetoriusspecifically equates his with that of Italy.)93In both transposed and untransposed forms, two of Monteverdi'svoice ranges exceed those of Praetorius: his sopranogoes lowerand his tenor higher. Withouttransposition,the upperend of both alto and bass is significantly higher; with transposition, soprano and alto go lower and the tenor both higher and lower. This is also inconclusive perhaps, but consistency of range is a matternot only of extremitiesbut also of tessitura. Although more difficult to demonstrate on the page, the gains in consistency of the tessitura resulting from the transpositions are considerable. At the lower pitch the bass duet writingin the Magnificat a 7, for example, reveals its close ties with that of the later Gloriaa 7 (ex.14). The characterof the solo tenor writingis still morerevealing:althoughthe introduction to the doxology of the Magnificat a 7 loses a certain amount of its presumed 'brilliance' by downward transposition, it now has much more in common with Audicoelum,Duo seraphimand, significantly, with the two principaltenor roles in the same composer'sOrfeo. was published in 1609, just one (See ex.15a-d.) Orfeo before the year Vespers.The operahad been performed
Ex.15 (a) Magnificat a 7 (1610), 'Gloria',tenor I
(b) Audi coelum (1610), tenor I
Om
nes
(c) Duo seraphim (1610), tenor I
a
-
ter
(d) Orfeo,Act V (Tutte le opere, xi, p.148) . .
Apollo
can
-
tan
-
-
([dl
coelo)
(e) Orfeo, Act III(p.93)
Orfeo
]a.
ta bel- lez
- za
(f) Audi coelum (1610), tenor I
dGlori sur -
gens
Ut
au
-
ri
a
-
ro
-
-
-
ra
ru
-
ti - lat
504
EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
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first in February1607 and it is very likely that music for the 1610 publication was assembled, if not all composed, over the following three years.94These two works represent the twin peaks of Monteverdi'sMantuan output, and from the moment of the opening respond's reworking of the toccata from Orfeo,the Vespers invites comparison with its secular predecessor. One may reasonably conjecture that Monteverdi had some of the same singers specifically in mind. Was, for example, the original Orfeo, the great also the inspiration Florentinesinger FrancescoRasi,95 The conflated Audi coelum? ex. for ranges of (See 15e-f.) Audi coelum offer a and Duo seraphim (a) Nigrasum, with the role of Orfeo further point of comparison (b) (ex.16).
mental parts in Monteverdi's output is the madrigal 'a sei voci, concertato',97 which has parts A quest'olmo for two violins and two 'flauti o fifara'[sic];the ranges, however, are restricted and work either at pitch or lower and so are of no assistance to us. One answer may be that the players were not in fact required to transpose at sight. Praetoriusexpects many organists to preparefor a performanceby writingout a tablature for themselves from the parts (see above); might violinists also perhaps expect to copy out parts, at whatever pitch was appropriate, from the printed source? The 1610 Vespers partbooks may be regarded as a compact repository of the musical text, from which parts were to be preparedif and as necessary. Although these eight partbooks are so arrangedthat a performancefrom them (with one voice or instrument Ex.16 Tenor ranges in (a) Nigra sum, Duo seraphim and Audi to a part) can just be managed, further copying is coelum (1610) and (b) Orfeo essential if any degree of spatial separationis required. (b) (a) (If, for example, in Ave marisstella the two four-part choirs are to be separated, the instrumental group(s) for the ritornello(a 5)will be divided between them.)So 6 V* it would have been a perfectly naturalprocess for the Such comparisons may well tip the scales back in instrumentalists (or a copyist on their behalf) to write favourof the transposedversion, especially as Praetor- out extra parts where necessary. An alternative procedure, which Monteverdimight ius explains that in Italy a low pitch-standard well have adopted, is to present vocal partsat one pitch and below his own was often used: instrumental partsat another.Alreadyamplyillustrated wienicht Italian demhohen unbillich, etliche singen, Sintemahl in connection with basso continuo parts,this approach es habekeine auchderText art k6nne kein vermeynen gefallen, is in followed Schiitz's Nun lob mein Seel den Herren:98 wol vemommen nichtrecht mankrehete, und werden, schreiye the vocal choirs two are notated in high clefs (in C), wie in der hohe die gleich Grasemagde. singe while the two instrumental choirs are a 4th lower (in G), SomeItalians,not unreasonably, take no pleasurein high a fact that offers the clearest possible demonstration thatthereis no artin it, andalsothatthe singing,believing of in practice. A similar (vocal) text cannotbe properly shout and transposition theory they crow, grasped; sing is followed in the Mass from the Venetian like procedure dairymaids.96 high up just Giovanni Antonio composer Rigatti's Messe e salmi Instruments and transposition (1640):99 while the two violin parts are notated in G2 Before looking for similarities or inconsistencies in clefs at a normallevel (in D), all the voice parts and the the instrumentalwriting of Orfeo and the Vespers, we remaining instrumental parts (continuo and three need to ask whether instrumentalists other 'viola'/tromboneparts)stand a 4th higher (in G)in high obviously than continuo players would ever have been expected clefs (G2 C2 C3 F3), all without signature. These examples may seem to argue against the idea to transpose. After all, keyboard or lute tablature of an a twoincorporates instrumentalists transposing. So perhaps does appropriate transposition, manual Flemish harpsichordgives the player a choice Viadana's etmanducate:00oo Fratres, egoenimaccepi/Accipite of pitch-level, and an organist, reading from staff it is for 'canto solo over cornetto', and the higher pitch, notation, is specially trained in transposition to suit giving a range of d' to a", clearly suits the instrument voices, while a singer is simply unencumbered by the better. Yet as early as the mid-16th century we find concept of a fixed pitch. But why should a violinist Ganassi1o'instructing viol players in the art of transever be requiredto play a 4th lower than the notes in position-for that is one of the functions of his front of him normally suggested? fingering charts-albeit mostly by a tone up or down, The only other high-clef workwith obbligato instru- though in one instance a 4th up. Virgiliano(c1600)102
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Table 2 up viol cornett & trombone cornett
flute
normal clefs down 2nd, min. 3rd 2nd, min. 3rd 2nd, min. 3rd
4th, 5th
high clefs up down 4th, 5th, maj. 6th, min. 7th 4th, 5th, maj. 6th, min. 7th 2nd
-
2nd 2nd 2nd, 5th
4th
4th, 5th, maj. 6th, min. 7th
4th, 5th
recorder
2nd
2nd, min. 3rd, 4th
4th, 5th, maj. 6th, min. 7th
gives comparable directions for players of the viol, cornett,recorderand trombone,but with a much wider range of transposition (see table 2 above). (It is worth noting that the 'easy' transposition down a 3rd, once mistakenly associated with high-clef notation,'01occurs only in connection with normal clefs.) Virgilianoalso gives 13 solo ricercaresfor a choice of instrument(recorder,flute, cornett, violin and 'similar' instruments). One, lacking any indication of instrumentation, uses G2 and C3 clefs alternatelyand has a range of g to c",104while all the others are notated in Cl, twice in alternationwith C4, both (6)and (-). Those that specify flute, violin and cornett have the range d to g", which suits only the flute (moreparticularly,the instrumentwhich Praetoriuscalls a tenor/alto flute in D, sounding an octave higher) 105 and is clearly impossible for violin or cornett without transposition upwards.(Transpositionup a 4th aligns these ranges reasonably well with those of the other ricercare.) At first sight, the phrase 'Vasonata alla quartaalta' which appearsagainst three items in SalamoneRossi's
three pieces in high clefs (G2 and C4) lie a 5th above the lutes, while five in normal clefs lie a tone above. The remainingitem, Lachrimae J Dooland,has one part (in G2)a tone above the lutes and another (in F4)at the lutes' pitch. Thus Besard presumably expects transposition down a 5th and a tone to cause no difficulty. The playersmost likely to have been fluent in the art of transposition, especially down a 4th and 5th, are those cornettists, trombonists and others who played regularly with choirs. As maestro di cappella at St Mark's, Venice, Zarlino(1573)must have expected this fluency from his colleagues:
nonsono utilisolamente; ma sommamente ... tali Trasportationi necessarie anco ad ogni peritoOrganista, che servealle Musiche & ad altriSonatori che sonano altresorti di similmente, choriste, il suono di quellialle Voci,le quali istrumenti, per accommodare alle volte non possono ascendere,o discenderetanto, quanto i luoghi propii delli Modi accommodati sopra i detti ricercano istrumenti.
... suchtranspositions [upa 5thordowna 4th]arenotonly useful but highlynecessaryboth to everyskilledorganist to other instrufirst collection of Sinfonie etgagliarde (1607)106 may also involvedwith choralmusic and similarly in orderto mentalists other sorts of instruments, playing the demand to However, transposition. upward appear match their which sometimes sound to cannot voices, go as pieces (two of which are for two 'viole' or two cornetts the as as the of modes or low high positions require proper and basso continuo) are alreadyin high clefs and the when playedon the said instruments.'08 rubric is evidently a warning against (otherwise cusThese ideas are elaborated by Zacconi (1592): tomary) downward transposition of a 4th. Thus, a furtherhigh-clef piece, with a higher range for the top Etavertaogniunochesi comele vocihumane, possanocantaruna un Tuono secondoche li un Tuono & basso cantilena alto, downward be to taken piu piu no and rubric, imply may part tornacommodo &che li paree piace,che cosi ancora gl'Istrumenti transposition. per The ability of instrumentalists to transpose is even possanosonar una cosa horain un Tuono& horanell'altro, cosi alle tutti universalmente sono alti voci. Et che rispeto rispetto more certainly presupposed in Besard'sNovus partus le vociilpiu si vogliano checongl'Istrumenti quando accompagnar 107 Thefirst section consists of 12 items involving (1617). le si sonanoalle seconda, alla terza, dellevolteperaccommodarle, three lutes (two of which can be shown to be in G, the alla quarta & c E pero in questo caso quelli che li vogliano other a 4th lower). Eleven of these, including dances adoprare.: almeno se non ne hanno altra particularcognitione: and simphoniae,also have two or three parts in staff sappianogeneralmente che i Tuoniharmoniali posti & collocati notation (in five instances for voices or instrumentsad dentro si possanosonarun Tuono alle lorcorde naturali: piu basso: &alla quintacomesi si possanofarealla quarta libitum).The apparent pitch of these parts coincides &cheli trasportati questecose. ch'eglida se stesso habbiada considerar fully with that of the lutes in only two instances; all presuppone
506 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
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Andeveryone[should] note that, just as voices can sing a song a tone higher or lower accordingto what proves for them and what seems pleasingto them, comfortable instruments too'cansimilarly playa piece nowin one Tone thatuniversally and now in another, remembering they are all high in relationto voices. Andthus, whenyou wantto in orderto accommovoices withinstruments, accompany datethemyou mostlyplay[atthe distanceof] a tone, 3rdor 4th etc.Andtherefore, in this case,thosewhowishto joinin of it)shouldat (iftheyhaveno further knowledge particular least knowthat you can generally playthe musicalTones given in their naturalpositions one tone lower and the ones a 4th or 5th [lower], as anyonewho has to transposed considerthese matters for himselfwouldimagine.109 While in theory instrumentalists working with voices would be familiar with several intervals of transposition, in practice experience obviously variedfrom player to player:
dareinrichten als wann es in seinemrechten fast weniger k6nnen, Clavebleibt: undauchmanchen Tonus vielbequemer aus solcher derQuintaals aus derQuartzu tractirenvorkdmmr auchoft die es nichtandersleidenwill:so hab ichs in seinem H6hederOrgeln rechten Tono bleibenlassen,damitein jedernachseinemeignen damit procediren undgebaren Gefallenund guten Gelegenheit k6nne.
in the Hypoionian Now,astheseandallothercantiones mode mustnecessarily be transposed downa 4th or 5th-at the 4th the piece always becomesfresher andmorespirited, but it is rather moredifficultfor the organists and instrumentaliststhan at the 5th--I intendedto havethe instrumental choirsand the continuopartprinteda 5th lower.Butas I have discovered that instrumentalists who are not so very canmanage almostless [well] thanwhenit stays experienced in its properkey and also for some such a Tone appears muchmorecomfortable to dealwithfromthe 5ththanfrom the 4th-also the pitchof the organswill often not permit left it in its proper else-I have therefore key, so Dennwenn irgend im unrechten anything ein Cantorso denenOrganisten andactas he pleasesandaccording to Clave folget und dem singen den Anfang machet ehe die thateachcanproceed "' darzukommenund mitanfangen, oderehesie zuvor circumstance. StadtPfeiffer
in denCornettoderPosaunstossenunddenrechten Chormessigen Clavem dem Cantori geben k6nnen sie sonderlichauff den Although some of Praetorius's statement may seem so vorsich zum Chor undrechten CornettenoderGeigen, Clave rather obscure, the opening is crystal clear and weil ihnen die transpositio per confirms the points made in Syntagmamusicum(see gestimmet nichtfort kommen, Secundam und Tertiamnichtwol bekant, es etlichen above). Three of the high-clef pieces in question call Sintemahl sawer undschwehr gnug wird,einenCantumper Quartamoder for instrumentaldoubling of the vocal parts,while the zu Quintam transponiren und machen also wol gar eine remaining four have independent instrumentalparts; Confusion, oderdoch sonsten erbarmliche Arbeit. all are in C major. It is difficult to imagine any
Forif any cantorfollowsthe organist in the wrongkey and initiates thesinging before thewindplayers joinin andbegin, and givethe or beforethey blowtheircornettor trombone cantor the correct choral key,theycannot especially proceed, tunedto the choirandto the on cornettsor violinsalready correctkey, becausethey are not veryfamiliar withtranspositionby a tone or a 3rd;since for some it is painfuland difficultenoughto transposea partby a 4th or a 5th, and they thereforecause quite a confusion, or at least do a miserable job.110 Evidentlythen, experienced players could be expected to transpose by a 4th or 5th when necessary, even if other intervals were generally to be avoided. In
Polyhymnia caduceatrix et panegyrica (1619), Praetorius
again presupposes some facility with transposition on the part of his instrumentalists:
Dieweilauch diese und alle andereCantiones in Modo Hypo-
oder inferiorem jonicoin Quartam Quintam notwendig transponiret werden missen: und in Quarta der Gesang allezeit denOrganisten undInstrumentistenaber fischer undanmutiger, etwas schwerer als in Quinta ank6mmt: so bin ich willens
dieChorosInstrumentales undBassumGeneralem gewesen
in Quintam inferioremgesetzetdrucken zu lassen.Dieweilich aberbefunden, dass nichtsogarsehrgeibteInstrumentistensich
notational problemsresultingfrom a written-outtransposition down a 5th to F major,whereas G major,with its sharp signature, may well have been considered less comfortable. It seems at least possible that a misprint causes the apparent obscurity: if, after the words 'Bassum Generalem', 'in Quartam'replaces 'in Quintam', Praetorius would appear to say that his intended transposition down a 4th created more (notational and technical) problems for the inexperienced player than an unwritten transposition down a 5th and was in any case not low enough for some organs."3 One important final example will serve to show incontrovertibly that in Italy, too, a composer of Monteverdi'stime would expect instrumentaliststo be able to transpose,at least down a 4th, just as Virgiliano's treatise implies (see above). HodiegloriosusPater(a 8) from a volume of motets by Sulpitia Cesis (1619)114is for two choirs: table 3 shows the distribution of the parts. Despite the 'normal' upper and lowest clefs (C1/C2and F4), the piece is to be performed down a 4th; hence the unusually precise instructions. Choir I is for three voices (all female?) and 'violone', while EARLY MUSICNOVEMBER 1984 507
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Table 3
Choir I C1 [voice] Choir II C2 per il cornetto alla quartabassa, ma pero sempre si sona su l'ottava alta C4 altus per il Trombonealla quarta bassa C4 per il trombonealla quartabassa
Ex.17Instrumental a 7 (1610), as notated, rangesin (a)Magnificat
(b) Magnificat a 7 (1610), transposed down a 4th, (c) Sonata sopra 'Sancta Maria'and (d) Orfeo, 'Possente spirto'
violin I (a) violin II bass violin cornett I cornett II
A
C2 [voice] C3 tenor all'ottava alta F3 alla quarta bassa per il violone
(b)
6
(c)
F4 Contrabasso alla quarta per l'Arciviolone the the the the (d)
A
AA
A
A
choir II is purely instrumental. The cornett, and vocal'tenor', effectively transpose up a 5th, one of intervals of transposition given by Virgiliano for cornett (see above), while the two trombones and two stringed instruments play down a 4th.
A
A
A
* Elsewherein Orfeo(intheritornello whichopensAct V)thebassviolinis takendownto D.
Monteverdi's Magnificat a 7: Instruments
Just as we have conjectured that Orfeoand the Vespers (1610) were written with some of the same singers in mind, so we may imagine that perhaps some of the same virtuoso violinists and cornettists took part in each work. Ex.17 gives the ranges of five of the instruments in the Magnificat a 7: (a) at notated pitch, and (b) transposed down a 4th; these may be compared with their equivalents in (c) the Sonata sopra 'Sancta Maria' and in (d) 'Possente spirto' from Orfeo, Act III. The consistency in range demonstrated by this transposition is quite striking; the consistency of tessitura is no less impressive (ex.18). Let us look in a little more detail at some of the technical aspects of these instruments. First, the cornett. Zacconi (1592),115 Praetorius (1618)116 and
Rognoni (1620)117all write of a basic two-octave range of a to a" which can be extended upwards according to individual ability by four and even six notes. (Mersenne (1636-7) gives the instrument's range as c'-d"',118 Bismantova (1677-9)119 describes a"-d'" as 'note sforzzate', and Speer (1697)120 gives a range up to c"'.) Yet the surviving music of Giovanni Gabrieli,121 who had at his disposal possibly the best wind players in Italy, never exceeds b"; and, typically, that note occurs just once in the virtuoso cornett writing of Praetorius's elaborate setting of Wachet auf. 122 In the solo cornett literature of the early 17th century, where one may expect to find innovations and displays of virtuosity, c'" appears infrequently and d'" not at all; Marini (1617) writes only up to b",123 while Picchi (1625),124 Marini (1629)125 and Fontana (1641)126 seem to be the earliest to write c"' (Marini also has a c"' sharp). As ex. 17 shows, the unprecedentedly virtuoso writing of
Ex.18 (a) and (c) Magnificat a 7 (1610), 'Deposuit', transposed down a 4th; (b) and (d) Orfeo, Act III
(b) cornetts
(c) violins
(d) violins
1P N.
508
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the Sonatasopra 'SanctaMaria'and also of Orfeo takes Ex.21 Instrumental ranges in the Magnificat a 7 (1610), (a) as downa 4th the instrument only to a". (An isolated b"' occurs in notated,and (b)transposed Deus in adiutorium recorders trombones which in (a) flutes (Dominead adiuvandum), * V A A A any case is in origin a trumpet part a tone lower.) A Untransposed, the two cornett parts in the Magnificat a 7 are clearly anomalous. (b) In a transposed Magnificat a 7, however, the low range of cornett III may cause some disbelief (ex.19). flute of the early 17th century was the tenor/alto in D with a normal range of two octaves (d'-d'").135 It was treated as an octave transposing instrument, and thus the untransposed writing of the Magnificata 7 would either exceed the normalupper limit by a few notes or, Yet the cornett III part of Giovanni Gabrieli'sequally exceptionally, have to be played at the lower octave. 'brilliant'motet In ecclesiisa 15127 has a similartessitura Transposed,the partslie comfortablyin the upperhalf and range (ex.20). It may well be that in both cases a of the flute. On the other hand, it is true that, after tenor cornett is intended; just as the term 'viola' or transposition, the lower trombone partin this section 'viola da brazzo'in the 1610 publication serves without has a rangewhich mightmakeus expect the designation further designation for two (or probably three)128 'trombone doppio' (as in the Sonata sopra 'Sancta different sizes of instrument, so 'cornett' may refer Maria),ratherthan merely 'trombone'136 (ex.22),but as generically to the family of instruments ratherthan to with the violin and cornett families, a complete and a specific size. The tenor cornett was certainly more consistent nomenclature is not to be expected; after all, the lowest of the three trombone parts in the Ex.20 Range of cornett III in G. Gabrieli, In ecclesiis is marked opening respond ('Dominead adiuvandum') simply 'trombone'.137
(a) (b)
Ex.19 Range of cornett III in the Magnificat a 7 (1610), (a)as notated, and (b) transposed down a 4th
common than modern performances of late 16th- and early 17th-century music might suggest,129 but low playing on the treble cornett is also a possibility, especially as the doubling of vocal parts in Cl and C2 clefs had long been one of the instrument's main functions. Virgilianoseems to give a fingering forg,130 Praetoriusrecognizes both g and f as possibilities,131 and Marini(1629) writesg once and a several times in the fourth partof his 'Canzoneprimaper quatroViolini 6 Cornetti'.l32 These two notes occur only in Monteverdi'sfinal 'Amen',wherethe instrumentis doubling a vocal line (the g twice and the f once) and in any case the player could, as Cesis specifies (see above) and as Praetorius may imply,133play in the higher octave without difficulty; such octave doubling is, after all, not uncommon in polychoral music of the time.134 The pairs of wind instruments that make brief appearances in 'Quiarespexit' may seem to contribute little to the argument, as flutes (if indeed the terms 'fifara'and 'pifara'here indicate flutes), trombones and recorders of appropriatesizes can be chosen to serve the music well at either pitch (ex.21). But the ordinary
Ex.22 Rangeof trombone in the Magnificata 7 (1610, (a)as notated, and (b)transposed down a 4th, and in (c) Sonatasopra'SanctaMaria'
(a) (b) (c)
Next, the strings. In first position, the violin's highest note is b",but an extension makes c"' possible without shifting.13s The violin writingin Orfeo has b"as its top note, while c"' comes just once in the Sonata and is used sparinglyby Montesopra'Sancta Maria'139 verdi elsewhere in his output.140 The note d"' is even rarer141 and no higher writtennote occurs anywherein his surviving work outside the Magnificat a 7. By contrast, in the untransposed Magnificat a 7 c'" appears regularly, violin I has d'" in four of its five obbligato sections (see ex.1b),violin II has the note in two sections, and both have one e"' flat. I have already noted an instrumental work of 1607 by the Mantuan composer Rossi requiringdownwardtransposition;its violin part goes to written d"', a note which appears nowhere else in the publication. Even a decade later in his op. 1 (1617), Biagio Marini,142 then a violinist under
EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 509
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Monteverdi at St Mark's, Venice, does not write beyond first position; b" is his normaltop note and c"' occurs in just one item. But by the time of the same composer's op.8 (1629), c'" has become the most frequent upper extreme,while two pieces go to d"'and one as far as e"'.143 Comparable ranges arecalled for by another composer with Mantuan connections, Giovanni BattistaBuonamente (1626)144and by Tarquinio Merula(c1631-3),145 and it may be significant that all three composers had by then spent several years working north of the Alps. Despite some apparent anomalies in GiovanniGabrieli'sposthumous Canzoni e sonate (1615),146 it would seem from a provisional survey of early 17th-century Italian string music that composers probably did not begin to write for the violin beyond first position until sometime in the 1620s. Even then it was very much the norm not to demand shifting; Castello'smusic (1621 and 1629),for example, never exceeds c"'147and even Merula(1637) stays within this limit.'48Against this background, it seems strange that Monteverdi (and his Mantuan players) might have been responsible for initiating these revolutionary experiments in violin technique, only to abandon them almost wholly to younger colleagues. Only one other stringed instrument is called for in the Magnificata 7: a bass 'Viuolada Brazzo'.Herethere are perhaps fewer easy points of comparison because of the general confusion surroundingthe terminology and nature of bass stringed instruments at this time. But downwardtransposition has two clear effects on the part.First,it brings all the music into first position, in line with all Monteverdi's other writing for the instrument(notably in the Sonatasopra'Sancta Maria); second, it gives the instrument a single, idiomatic C (almostcertainlyits lowest open string and in any case a note that occurs in the Sonata)at a place where the organ has c (ex.23).149 To transpose Monteverdi's Magnificat a 7 down a 4th is thus to remove several apparentanomalies (and probableanachronisms)from the instrumentalwriting without creating any new ones (unless the lowness of
cornett III be such). This in itself is surely suggestive, as the similartranspositionof any comparablycomplex instrumental music (for example, the Sonata sopra 'SanctaMaria) would almost inevitably produce insoluble problems. High-clef notation It would be unreasonableto conclude withouttouching briefly on the question of why Monteverdiused high clefs in the first place. With Schonsleder (1631),150 we find well still ourselves 'amazed to see the may majority of musicians customarily writing many of their songs in them, although they know that if anyone wishes to sing them they will have to be transposed downwards'. The subject is a vast and intricateone and as yet there has been no definitive study. Matters of compositional technique, notational practice, modal theory and pitch-standard are all involved, and the four high-clef pieces in Monteverdi's 1610 Mass and Vespers perhaps reflect some of this diversity. The 1610 Mass is a rigorous re-workingof ten fughe from Gombert'smotet In illo tempore. Parodyworks of this type almost always retain the notated pitch-level, and therefore clefs, of their models; Monteverdi'sis no exception and we therefore need look no furtherfor an explanation of his choice of high clefs in that work. In the conservative LaudaJerusalemthe chant is presented in the tenor, first untransposed and later a 4th higher; these are its two traditional written levels (the only ones that remain strictly within the gamut) and it may well be that Monteverdichose the written pitch of his setting accordingly. In both the Mass and psalm, to have written at the intended sounding pitch (a 4th lower) would not only have altered the given material but, more important,would also have introduced an undesirable signature of one sharp. The apparent incongruity of dazzling, up-to-date instrumentalwritingin imminently obsolescent highclef notation may seem a central problem with the Magnificat a 7. Yet, particularly if we are correct in thinking that Monteverdi intentionally reproduced Gombert'swritten pitch in his Mass, an explanation
Ex.23 Magnificat a 7 (1610), 'Fecit potentiam', transposed down a 4th, (a) viuola da brazzo, and (b) bassus generalis
(a)510 EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER1984
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may be that here, too, he wished to preservethe written pitch of his model. Analysis of the two Magnificats . .. ... 'strongly suggests that the smaller six-voice setting ..... served as the basis for the larger one with instruments','51 and thus it would have been natural for Monteverdito compose his more elaborateworkat the .. pitch of the earlier one. ...l One puzzle remains. Why is the Magnificat a 6 in high clefs? Here the chant (Psalm Tone 1) is mostly a used transposed up a 4th, often in alternationwith an & (mp, &in rfcula JecuNorumAii Alcattit Akia ej traditional alterversion. the However, untransposed native level of the chant is not up but down a 4th. Has Monteverdichosen to transpose the chant up only for performersto perform it down? There are no obvious notational difficulties with the lower (performing) the Jerusalem; pitch as there are in the Mass and Lauda 1 1 W,-q $NO flat signaturewould simply disappearand the remotest !"!PO accidental would sharpen G rather than C. Eitherthe .7-7 choice of high clefs was almost arbitrary-it was a perfectly common form of notation presenting no problems to singers or organist-or it was dictated by reasons of modal theory still obscure to us. (Interestingly enough, it seems that 'as the 16th century wore on interest in and evidence for modality of any kind in Vespersof 1610 in the original the polyphonic repertory increased rather than 5 The openingof Monteverdi's partbook print.Cantus lessened'.)152 Considerations of this nature may seem to conflict Hugh Keyte for instigating the performance and for his encouragewith the modernity and freedom of Monteverdi's ment and advice at all stages. I am also grateful to many other especially Clifford Bartlett,Bruce Dickey and Graham concertatomusic, but more probably they were in- colleagues, Dixon, for their assistance. grained in the thinking of a composer in his early 40s 2JohnEliot Gardiner, programmenotes for performancesin 1984 had pronounced him a pupil of the Vespers.In an interviewfor BBCRadio3 (July 1984),Gardiner whose first publication153 forward his objections to the transpositions. First, 'such an of Marc'AntonioIngegneri. In any case he was un- put academic formula seems to me foreign to his [Monteverdi's] nature'. doubtedly sensitive to the criticisms by Giovanni Second, 'it would involve using a lower cornetto'.Third,'I just think MariaArtusiof his contrapuntalprocedures154 and an it sounds dull and wrong'. 3on EX 2701293 express purpose of the 1610publicationwas, according 4Theterms seem to derive from Giuseppe Paolucci, Arte praticadi to his preface, that 'claudantur ora in Claudium contrappunto (Venice, 1765-72); see S. Hermelink, 'Chiavette', The loquentium iniqua' (the mouths of those speaking New Grove. SClaudioMonteverdi, Sanctissimaevirginimissa senis vocibusad unjustly against Claudio may be closed). chorosac vespere cumnonnullis sacris ecclesiarum decantandae, pluribus It is perhapsironic that one of the moreconservative concentibus, ad sacella sive principum cubiculaaccommodata (Venice, the other seven partbooks omit'ad features of such an innovatory publication should 1610)(title from Bassusgeneralis; have caused Monteverdito be so badly misrepresented ecclesiarum choros'). 6A. J. Ellis and A. Mendel, Studiesin the Historyof MusicalPitch later on. (Amsterdam, 1968);Mendel'scontributionconsists largelyof reprints of his invaluable 'Pitch in the 16th and Early 17th Centuries',MQ, Andrew isfounder anddirector Choir, xxxiv Parrott of theTaverner (1948),pp.28-45, 199-221, 336-57, 575-93. His later'Pitch in Consort and Players,with whom he records for EMI,and Western Music since 1500: a Re-examination',Actamusicologica, 1, also a freelanceconductorFormerly director of music at 1/2 (1978), pp.1-93, covers much of the same ground but often in less detail; all references to Mendel are therefore to his earlierwork MertonCollege,Oxfordhe currently holds a Leverhulme and give the pagination of the 1968 reprint. artisticdirector Fellowshipand in 1985 will become of the 7GioseffoZarlino,Dimostrationi harmoniche (Venice, 1571/R 1966), pp.309 and 311 new European based in Oxford BaroqueOrchestra
. ..z.. --.VWII It-w
'A BBCPromenadeConcert (July 1977). The performerswere the TavernerChoir and Players with various soloists. I am indebted to
sMichael Praetorius,Syntagmamusicum,ii (Wolfenbiittel, 1618, 2/1619/R 1958), p.31, describes this procedure for enabling a tenor trombonist to read correctly for bass trombone. EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 511
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9PietroCerone, El melopeoy maestro(Naples, 1613/R 1969), p.494 . i PXTVS & InAnitmentit S' S: o 16. 'oGirolamoDiruta, Secondaparte del transilvano (Venice, 1609/R 1978), bk 3, p.1 lIbid, p.4 treats the eight Magnificat Tones similarly in a later 12Diruta ---chapter:op cit, bk 4, pp.7-16. ... -~-"Juan Bermudo, El libro llamado declaraci6nde instrumentos musicales (Osuna, 1555/R 1957), bk 4, ch.26, ff.73v-74, gives instructionsfor playingthe modes up a 2nd, 4th and 5th, and down a 2nd and a minor 3rd. Later, Thomas Morley writes that certain transpositions were often required for ease of the singers (APlaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musiche(London, 1597, p.156). Jean Denis, Traitide laccordde l'espinette & if)-r ryu )I):....1 (Paris,2/1650), p.19; facs. 1, & d"Ct ? ed. A. Curtis(New York,1969), tells how his teacher, the organist of ? the Ste Chappelle in Paris, Florent le Bienvenu (1568-1623), would ? play the Magnificat chant in one key 'pour la commodite des , l: ... Chantres'but his solo verses in another, avoiding 'bad' keys. della musica Galilei, antica et della "4Vincenzo Dialogo moderna (Florence, 1581/R 1968), p.87 Paulo Cima,Partito de ricercari &canzoniallafrancese(Milan, "SGian t1 xx (Rome, 1969), p.62 1606), p.73; ed. C. G. Rayner,CEKM, f~; 16A. and G. Gabrieli,Intonationidorgano.. libroprimo(Venice, 1593) 17Zarlino, Le istitutioniharmoniche (Venice, 1558/R 1965, rev. 3 /1573/R 1966), p.391 S8Galilei, inMusic op cit,p.87; see 0. Strunk,Source Readings History (New York, 1950), p.314. 19RoccoRodio, Regole di musica (Naples, 1609), pp.86-8 (this edition also bears the date 1611 on its final page). The section in question, headed 'Come permusicafinta si ponnofaregl'istessituoniin altriluoghi',is an addition to the original publication of 1600. See Mendel, op cit, pp.153-4, who takes Rodio as providing evidence against the principle of the downward transposition of high-clef 6 Vespers of 1610: Sextus partbook music; in fact, the subject is not mentioned. ed. Ripin, Barnes,'TheSpecious Uniformityof ItalianHarpsichords', 20Cerone, op cit, pp.922 and 925 op cit, pp.1-10 21Agostino Agazzari,Del sonaresopral basso (Siena, 1607/R 1969), 36W.R. Thomas and J. J. K. Rhodes, 'The StringScales of Italian p. 10; see Strunk,op cit, pp.429-30. Instruments', GSJ, xx (1967), pp.48-62, and J. H. van der Meer, 22Praetorius, Syntagmamusicum,iii (Wolfenbiittel, 1619/R 1958), 'HarpsichordMaking and Metallurgy:a Rejoinder',GSJ,xxi (1968), pp.80-81; cited in Mendel, op cit, pp.140-41 pp.175-8 23Ibid, p. 136 Banchieri, Conclusioni nel suono dellorgano(Bologna, 37Adriano 240nlyMorleyin Englandadvises against such transpositions;he 1608/R 1934), pp.94-5. Cf. the interrelationship of the differentthus at least implies the existence of such a practice. sized instruments built by the Ruckers family; see G. G. O'Brien, 25VolupiusDecorus [pseud. of Wolfgang Schonsleder],Architect- 'loannes and Andreas Ruckers',EM, vii (1979), pp.453-66. onicemusicesuniversalis (Ingolstadt, 1631), pp.66ff; cited in Mendel, 38Praetorius, Syntagmamusicum,ii, p.62 op cit, p.230, in an addition to his original article Theatrum instrumentorum 39Praetorius, (Wolfenbfittel,1620/R1958), 26Lorenzo Penna, Liprimialborimusicali(Bologna, 1672, 5/1696), pl.VI pp.188-96 40T.Beckerleg, 'The Fitzwilliam Museum Harpsichord',Italian 27Bartolomeo musicale Bismantova,Compendio treatise, Musicat the Fitzwilliam(Cambridge,1976), pp.24f (manuscript 1677-9: Biblioteca Municipale di Reggio Emilia/facs. edn Ferrara, 41SeeG. Kinsky,Musikhistorisches Museumvon WilhelmHeyerin Florence, 1978), pp.[84-6] (DelsuonareSpostato) Coln:Katalog,i (Cologne, 1910), no.310. ad manuductionem 28Johann BaptistSamber,Continuatio organicam 42The harpsichord by Hans Mfiller (Leipzig, 1537), now in the (Salzburg,1707), p.143; cited in Mendel, op cit, p.140 Museo degli StrumentiMusicali in Rome,has a keyboardthat could 29Paolucci, op cit, i, pp.184-5 and 231; iii, pp.173-4 and 215; cited be shifted by a tone. See L. Cervelli and J. H. van der Meer, in Mendel, op cit, p.130 Conservato a Romail piu anticoclavicembalo (Rome, 1967). van Blankenburg,Elementa musica(TheHague, 1739/R 3oQuirinus 43Praetorius, Syntagmamusicum,ii, pp.63-6. Giovanni Valentini 1973), p.142; cited in Mendel, op cit, p.179 New Grove) (see The is known to have performedon this instrumentin 3"SeeMendel, op cit, pp.170-86. 1617. 32The RussellCollection and Other Instruments 44Giovanni BattistaDoni, Compendio in Saint EarlyKeyboard del trattato e de'modi de'generi CeciliasHall,Edinburgh della musica(Rome, 1635), p.70 (Edinburgh,1968), pp.12-15 33J.H. van der Meer, 'More about Flemish Two-manualHarpsilibersecundus Pierluigida Palestrina,Missarum 45Giovanni (Rome, chords', Keyboard Instruments: Studiesin Keyboard 1500- 1567);Le operecomplete,iv, pp.1-25 Organology 1800, ed. E. M. Ripin(Edinburgh,197 46Claude Le Jeune, Dodicacorde 1/R New York,1977),pp.50-52 (La Rochelle, 1598) 34See R. T. Shann, 'Flemish transposing harpsichords: an ex47StefanoLandi, II Sant'Alessio (Rome, 1634/R 1970) planation', GSJ,xxxvii (1984), pp.62-71. 48Wroclaw,olim Stadtbibliothek, Ms.mus.CI.1238 (presumably 35J.D. Shortridge,ItalianHarpsichord Buildingin the 16th and 17th destroyed in World War II) and Jacobus Gallus [Handl],Missarum Centuries (Washington, DC, 1960), J. Barnes, 'Pitch Variations in VvocumliberIII (Prague, 1580), no.9; ed. in DTO,cxix, pp.30ff and Italian KeyboardInstruments', GSJ,xviii (1965), pp.110-16, and J. 103ff
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Einerneuenhunstlichen Tabulatur 49Bernhart Schmid, ZweyBticher. auff Orgelund Instrument (Strasbourg, 1577). Contents listed, with details of transposition, in W. Merian, Der Tanz in den deutschen (Leipzig, 1927).All the works are by Lassus, except Tabulaturbtichern for Crecquillon's chanson Si me tenes (RISM,154514), f.14, and the motet Hierusalem luge (RISM15329),p.49, by Richafort or Lupus. Tabulaturbuch Orgel 50JacobPaix, Ein sch6n nutz unndgebreuichlich (Lauingen,1583).The index, listing transpositiondegrees,is reprinted in Merian, op cit, p.116. The 24 motets are mostly by Lassus and Palestrina,with one each by Josquin, Senfl and Clemens non Papa. In addition, there are three whose original I have been unable to trace: two by Paix himself (Jubilate Domino and Domine quid multiplicati sunt) and an AveMariaby one 'Riccius'(perhapsTeodore Riccio).Although the transposition degree of these three is known, the original clefs are not, so they are omitted from the statistics. (One is untransposed, one down a 4th and one down a 5th.) musicum(Antwerp,1584/RBuren, 51Emanuel Adriaenssen,Pratum 1977);partly ed. in Monumenta musicae belgicae, (Antwerp,1966). Contents listed in H. M. Brown,Instrumental MusicPrinted Before 1600.: a Bibliography (Cambridge,Mass., 1965), pp.334-7 (15846). The 27 items discussed below are nos.6-32 in Brown.Adriaenssen prints a lute intabulation and the top and bottom parts of 27 madrigalsand chansons. Those which I have checked (nos.6-8, 10-11, 14, 16, 212, 24-5, 27-31) retain their original clefs, so it seems likely that the others do. There are 15 with clefs Cl and F4 (i.e. normal clefs); of these, 14 have the lute part at the same pitch (assuming a lute in G tuning) and one has the lute a tone higher. (It could be argued that this is to avoid the difficulty of playing a piece in F on an instrument with a bottom string G; but elsewhere Adriaenssen uses a seventh course.) Thereare ten with high clefs (eight have G2 and F3 and two have G2 and C4):all are transposed downwards.Two (both with flat signatures)are transposed down a tone; both are in Gminor,so there would have been difficulties in keeping the bass notes on the instrument, had they been put down a 4th into D minor. Two (both withoutflat signatures)aretransposed down a 5th. Six aretransposed down a 4th (threewith a flat and three without). In addition, there is one with Cl and C4 clefs, which goes down a 4th, and one (Lassus's popularSusannun jour),using G2 and C4 clefs, which goes down a tone. The rest of the publication clearly shows that high-clef pieces are lowered,though it offers no examples of transposition down a 5th. A group of three-voice works mostly in Cl, C2 or C3, and C4 clefs is transposed down a tone, though two examples with a G2 clef go down a 4th; the two famous pieces by Hubert Waelrant for four voices and four lutes, in normal clefs, are untransposed if we assume lutes in G, F, D and C, or tipa tone if the lutes are in A, G, F and D. The two settings for two lutes a tone apart (nos.33 and 34) requireinstruments in A and G to give the expected transposition of a 4th down for the first and to preserve the original pitch for the second. Whatever the absolute pitch relationship between lute tuning and the pitch implied by the vocal notation, the intention to bring high-clef works to the level of normal-clef ones is clear. 52(Rome,1586, rev. 2/1592/R Bologna, 1971). There was also an edition of 1586 without the keyboard and lute versions. Nanino's and four other items from the collection are Jesu spes penitentibus transcribed in H. Haack, Anfdngedes Generalbass-satzes (Tutzing, 1974), Notenteil, pp.82-6. 1595/R Bologna, 1971);contents listed in Brown,op cit, 53(Rome, p.406 (15951o). Accordingto Mendel, op cit, p.149, Verovio'sGhirlanda di fiorettimusicali(Rome, 1589) may contain similar examples. 5411 primolibrode madrigali(Venice, 1600) 55(Venice,1602; Lib.II, 1607, Lib.III,1609). LaterGermanreprints combine all three volumes: A. Davidsson, Cataloguecritiqueet de musique(Uppsala, 1952), no.517, lists the des imprimds descriptif complete contents from the Frankfurtedition of 1626. The solo motets from the 1602 edition ed. C. Gallico (Mantua and Kassel, 1964). (The transcriptions in Haack, op cit, are not accompanied by
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informationon clefs and organtransposition adequate enough to be helpful.) 56(Rome,1613), no.42, Tantotempore,for two altos (C2(b))and no. 157, Quisequiturme, fortwo tenors (C3(b)) (Innsbruck, 1614), Magnificat magnaematrisdivinocarmine 57Super a 8 (based on a motet by Giovanni exultans' no.3; Magnificat'Laudans SelectedMagnificats, Croce); ed. H. Junkermann in J Stadlmayr: Recent Researches in the Music of the BaroqueEra,xxxv (Madison, Wisc., 1980), pp.74-105. The clefs of the voice parts are G2 C2 C3 F3(b)for each of the two choirs. Werhe PsalmenDavids (Dresden, 1619), no. 13;Saimtliche 58Schiitz, (Leipzig, 1885-94, 1909, 1927/R 1968-73), ii, p.180 ... continentimusica di 59Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, Concerti & altro(Venice, 1587) chiesa,madrigali, 60(Dresden,1636);SdmtlicheWerke,xii 61It is not clear whether the inexperienced organist finds the notation difficult with a sharp signature, or whether Schiitz is thinking of his difficulties with the 'bad' notes of a mean-tuned instrument. Dirutatouches on the subject briefly (opcit, bk 4, p.16) musicum,iii, p.81). and Praetoriusmore fully (Syntagma 62(Dresden,1657); SdmtlicheWerke,xii; no.7, Meine Seele erhebt is for four voices in the clefs G2 C2 C3 C4(-), with the den Herren, basso in continuo in F4(#). is the only work in the set notated with a G2 clef in the top 63This part;it is this clef which is the clearest indication, not that of the lowest voice, which is F4 in seven of the other motets, F3 in three and C4 in one. Anotherwork of Schiitz's to use this transpositional Chorconvention is Also hat Gottdie Weltgeliebt(no. 12 of Geistliche Music(Dresden, 1648);Sdmtliche viii), which has voices in G2 Werke, C2 C3 C3 F3 clefs(-), while the basso continuo has an F4 clef (#)and is transposed down a 4th. Five different intervals of transposition are evidently called for in Constantijn Huygens's anthology of solo songs, Pathodiasacra et profana(Paris, 1647);ed. F. Noske (Amsterdam, 1976).Before each item the singer's initial note is given in lute EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 513
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tablature,despite the fact that the accompaniment is simply a bass line in staff notation. Assuming a G tuning, 21 of the 39 songs are untransposed and a further 11 are down a tone. Most of the basses use F4; the remainder are as follows: F3 (-) down a 2nd F3 (b)down a 4th F3 (-) down a 5th C4 (-) down a 5th (x3) C4 (-) down a major 6th 64Seen.55. 1611): cited in Mendel op cit, p.149 65(Strasbourg, 66Attemptsto solve this problem by making instruments with separate keys for D sharp and E flat (and also G sharp and A flat) evidently date from the 15th century in Italy but seem to have been rarerin Germany(see Praetorius:Syntagmamusicum,iii, p.81). The 1480 contractfor an organat Lucca cathedralspecifies this solution Evidence for Meantone Temper(see M. Lindley,'Fifteenth-Century cii (1975-6), p.37), and more than a century later ament', PRMA, Diruta(opcit, bk. 4, p.16)records that 'In alcuni Organivi sono li tasti scavezzi' (In some organs there are split keys). See also Wolfgang oderSatyrischer Componist CasparPrintz,Phrynis (Quedlinburg,1676), ch. 11, ? 12ff;cited in Mendel, opcit, p.230. Italianharpsichordswith keyboardsof this type were quite common. As early as 1548 Zarlino istitutioni harmoniche, (Le p.164) had commissioned one with 19 notes to the octave. seu SacraeCantiones 'TheAntiphonae, (1613) of 67SeeJ. Armstrong, Giovanni Francesco Anerio: A Liturgical Study', Analectamusicologica,xiv (1974), pp.89-150. xvii. The original clefs are 1619);Gesamtausgabe, 68(Wolfenbiittel, listed on pp.xxxi-xxxiii. 69Quotedin full below. 7oSeeabove. "(Leipzig, 1636);SdmtlicheWerke,vi, nos.7, 8 and 18 xvi (simple,four-voice settings Werke, 72(Dresden, 1661);Sdmtliche of CorneliusBecker'sversification of the psalms, not the polychoral settings of the 1619 PsalmenDavids) 73Mendel'sanalysis of the revisions (op cit, pp.144-7) is unfortunatelybased on the misleading edition by P. Spitta(H. Schfitz, SdmtlicheWerke, xvi). See S. Hermelink,'Bemerkungenzur Schiitzim Wandel des historischen Edition Bewusstseins, Edition',Musikalische ed. T. G. Georgiades (Kassel, 1971), pp.207-9 and 214-5. 74SeeU. Prinz,'Anmerkungenzur Neuausgabe des "Beckerschen Psalters"von Heinrich Schiitz',Musikforschung, xxv (1972), pp. 17581. 75See Praetorius'scomments in Syntagmamusicum,ii, pp.16-17. musicum,iii, p.82. See also Praetorius'sarguments in 76Syntagma favour of a choir pitch a tone lower than the prevailingCammerthon musicum, ii, pp.15-16; cited in Mendel, op cit, pp.109-11). (Syntagma "The tenor part uses F3 just in 'Sicut locutus est'. a quattrovoci et salmi (Venice, 1650); Tuttele opere,xvi, 78Messa pp.211-26 "Viewing the Magnificat a 6 in isolation from the other Vesper music, however, a 'skilled organist' might perhaps be tempted to consider the alternativeintervalof a minor3rd, as the alto partdoes not lie at all high, and the three lowest voices descend rather low. ii (Bologna, 1775), 8sGiovanni Battista Martini, Esemplare ... pp.242-50 Mass and Vespers 8'See J. G. Kurtzman, of Essays on theMonteverdi 1610 (Houston, 1978), pp.9 and 38. These late transpositions are unlikely to have been affected directly by changes in pitch standard in the century and a half after 1610, when pitch seems ratherto have moved downwards (by perhaps as much as a tone); it might be argued, though, that such a change would have ruled out transposition down a 5th. Jerusalem by a minor3rd 82The possible temptation to lowerLauda rather than a 4th can easily be resisted because of the prominent majortriadson F sharpthat this would create for the continuo, quite 514 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
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8 Vespers of 1610: Tenor partbook apart from the probability of an uncomfortable transition from a closing F sharp major chord to the ensuing antiphon or antiphon substitute. (In the publication the psalm is followed by the Sonata sopra'SanctaMaria',which opens in G major.) 830n the words 'aurora'and 'coelos', bars 14 and 22 84Thenote occurs once in Selva moralee spirituale(Venice, 1640 le opere,xv, p.472, bar 127)and once ii (Tutte [1641]),in Laudatepueri in Messa a quattrovoci et salmi (1650), in Dixit [i] (Tutte le opere,xvi, p.73, bar 116); both occurrences are brief. When transposed, the 1610 Mass has two Gs (Gloria,bar 42, and Credo,bar 34) and one A le opere,xvi, pp.73, bars 86 and 121); (Agnus Dei a 7, bar 49) (Tutte these are also brief. 85Giulio Caccini, Nuove musiche e nuova maniera di scriverle (Florence, 1614);ed. H. W. Hitchcock in Recent Researches in the Music of the Baroque Era,xxviii (Madison, Wisc., 1978), pp.64-77 a 7, Dixit ii, Beatus ii, Laudate 86Gloria pueriii and Magnificat i 87Bothsettings of Dixit, and Beatus vir morale(1640); Tuttele opere,xv, pp.189-94. Cf. the bass 88Selva (Leipzig, 1636). parts in Schiitz, KleinegeistlicheConcerte le opere,xii 89Tutte et amorosi(Venice, 1638); Tuttele opere,viii, 90Madrigali guerrieri pp.314-47 morale(1640); Tuttele opere,xv, pp.117-77 91Selva 92For the bass Praetoriusalso gives an F which evidently some singers tried to reach, though without real success. He goes on to name three basses reputed to have been able to sing E' flat (ibid, p.17). p.15. The question of absolute pitch-standardsin the early 93Ibid, 17th century is, of course, an extremelycomplex one. W. R. Thomas and J. J. K. Rhodes ('Schlick, Praetoriusand the History of Organii (1971),pp.58-76) have used the evidence of Yearbook, Pitch',Organ Praetorius's woodcut of pipe dimensions (Syntagmamusicum,ii, p.232) to propose a'= about 428 as his reference pitch. Recently, H. W. Myers('Praetorius's Pitch',EM,xii (1984),pp.369-71) has pointed
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out that the large majorityof Praetorius'sscale illustrations of wind instruments correspond closely to surviving examples of about a'=460; this may be the standard of most Nurembergtrombones, which Praetorius considered the most reliable guides to his own musicum,ii, p.232). This is quite likely to have been pitch (Syntagma roughly the same as Venetian pitch, but we cannot assume that it was therefore in use in Mantua too; Giovanni Battista Doni (Annotazioni soprail compendio (Rome, 1640), pp.181-2; Mendel, op cit, p.236) differentiates (by suspiciously neat semitones) between the prevailingpitch standardsof Naples, Rome,Florence, Lombardy and Venice, from low to high respectively (see also above and n.44). 94See I. Fenlon, 'The Monteverdi Vespers: Suggested Answers to Some Fundamental Questions', EM, v (1977), pp.380-87. Fenlon conjectures that a first performance took place in Mantua at S Andreaon 25 May 1608, but Kurtzman's objection (opcit,p.42) that such an occasion would not account for the dedication of the Vespers to the Virgin is a strong one. Rasi as Orfeo,see T.Carter and D. Butchart,correspondence, 95For MT,cxviii (1977), p.393. Marcoda Gagliano mentions in the preface to La Dafne (Florence, 1608; ed. J. Erber(London, 1978)) that Rasi participatedin the original performance in mid-February1608; for the date, see S. Reiner,'La vag'Angioletta', Analecta xiv musicologica, (1974), pp.53-6. Gagliano's solo writing is much more restrained than that of Monteverdi,so a morerestrictedrange is to be expected. musicum,ii, p.16. The translation of 'Grasemigde' is 96Syntagma somewhat conjectural, cf. Mendel (op cit, p.112, n.45). settimolibrode madrigali le opere, vii, (Venice, 1619);Tutte 97Concerto. pp.14-34. The violin parts go up to c"' (which, at pitch, would have been manageable in first position, with extension) and down to e'. Davids(Dresden, 1619),no.20; Sdmtliche iii, p. 101 98Psalmen Werke, 99(Venice,1640): information from Jerome Roche above. The original notation is with G2 clef (b);the organ o1oSee partis a 4th lower but is also cued at the same pitch as the upperpart if it is to be played with a cornett. 'O'Sylvestrodi Ganassi dal Fontego, Regola Rubertina(Venice, 1542) 102Aurelio Virgiliano, II dolcimelo (manuscript treatise, c1600: Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale/facs. edn Florence, 1979), pp.[98-9, 102-3, 105, 109, 111]. See also below. Mendel, op cit, pp.129-32 0o3See cit, p.[70]. This is an incomplete diminution on Palestrina's 1040p Vestivii colli; editions in R. Erig, ItalienischeDiminutionen (Zurich, 1979), pp.347-76 and Virgiliano, 13 Ricercate (London, 1980), p.72. The key and high clef derive from the original madrigal. musicum,ii, p.22 'OsSyntagma 106Salamone Rossi, II primolibrodellesinfonieet gagliarde (Venice, 1607). Rossi, it should be remembered, was one of Monteverdi's colleagues at Mantua,though it is unlikely that, as a Jew, he would have been involved in any church music-making. musicae Besard, Novus partus.sive Concertationes 107Jean-Baptiste (Augsburg,1617). See J. Sutton, 'The Music of J. B. Besard'sNovus partus, 1617', JAMS,xix (1966), pp. 182-204. Le istitutioniharmoniche, 108Zarlino, p.390 '09LodovicoZacconi, Pratticadi musica (Venice, 1592/R 1967), f.218v Syntagmamusicum,ii, p.):(9 O?Praetorius, 111(Wolfenbittel, 1619), no.15, introductory para. 6; Gesamtausgabe,xvii, p.110 12Compare Schuitz'sobservations above. "'3There is reason to believe that early 17th-centuryorganpitch in Germanytended to approximateto the highest levels known in Italy; thus, transposition down a 5th might have been more useful and therefore more common there. See n.93. spirituali (Modena, 1619).Cesis was a nun at the convent 114Motetti of S Agostino in Modena.
cit,.f.218v "'50Op "6Praetorius, Syntagma musicum, ii, p.36
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1620/R 1978), pt 2, p.[2] universelle "1MarinMersenne, Harmonie (Paris, 1636-7/R 1963), iii, p.273. Later(p.275), Mersenne mentions that Quiclet and others can reach two notes higher. "gBismantova,op cit, pp.[108-9] 120DanielSpeer, Grund-richtiger der musicalischen ... . Unterricht musicalischesKleeblatt(Ulm, 1697/R 1974), Kunst, oder Vierfaches p.232 12'See the parts with designations in Sacraesymphoniae (Venice, 1597) and Canzoniet sonate (Venice, 1615). et panegyrica 12Praetorius,Polyhymniacaduceatrix (Wolfenbiittel, 1619), no.21 123Biagio Marini,Affettimusicali(Venice, 1617) Picchi, Canzonida sonar (Venice, 1625) 124Giovanni Sonate.symphonie... e retornelli 12sMarini, (Venice, 1629) 126Giovanni Battista Fontana, Sonate (Venice, 1641). This is a posthumous publication; the composer died c1630. sacrae (Venice, 1615), no.26 Gabrieli,Symphoniae 127G. its exceptional use for violin II at the start of the 128(Excluding Magnificata 7.) I leave aside here the question of a'tenor' or 'small bass' violin (tuned an octave or a 9th below the treble violin), which I believe was common at this period in Italy and which must be the intended alternativeto trombone II in the Sonatasopra'Sancta Maria'. '29An inventory of the StuttgartHoflapellein 1589 lists '4 grosse gerade Zinken,3 Tonos niederer, seindt in der Kappelzu dem Alt zu gebrauchen' (4 big straight cornetts, 3 notes lower [than the previously mentioned 6 mute cornetts at choir pitch], to be used in the Kapelle for the alto part), (see G. Bossert, Wtirttembergische new ser., xxi (1912)).Viadana,in a Vierteljahrsheftfi'rLandesgeschichte, note in the Bassogenerale chori perlorganobook of his Salmia quattro (Venice, 1612),recommends 'Cometti storti'('crooked'cornetts) for C2 and C3 parts in two of the four choirs. Praetorius, however, disliked the instrument (Syntagma musicum,ii, p.36): EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 515
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Zinck Cornovel Cornettotorto,sonstenCornongenand ist eingrosser baldwieeinS formiret unndist ein QuintTieffer, alss einrechtergemeiner unnd wiewol etzliche meynen,diesergebe nicht mehr alss 11. Zinckh So befindet sichs Thon oderStimmen, undheinfalsett dri'ber: Natiirlicher als diegemeine Zinchen von dennergleichergestald dochanders, 15.Thon so halt sich gibet.Aberweil derResonanz undhornhafftig, gar unlieblich ich mehrdarvon, das man eine Posaun an dessenstad gebrauche. The corno or cornettotorto, also called cornon,is a large cornett, shaped ratherlike an S, and is a 5th lower than the ordinarycornett; and although some maintain that it has no more than 11 natural notes, and no falsetto above, this in fact not the case, for just like the ordinarycornett it has 15 notes. But because the resonance is quite unlovely and horn-like, I consider it better to use a trombone in its place. The range he gives for the instrument (ibid,p.22) is c/d-d", while Zacconi (op cit, f.218v) gives the narrowerrange up to g'. '30Virgiliano, op cit, pp.[102-3] Syntagmamusicum,ii, p.36 '31Praetorius, 132Marini, op cit (1629) allows certain alto or tenor parts to be sung an 133Praetorius octave up by a boy (Syntagmamusicum, iii, p.158) and Viadana suggests performinga C3 part'con Violini all'ottava'(Salmia quattro chori,(Venice, 1612)). Ich dankedem Schiitz's reworkingof G. Gabrieli'sLieto 134In godeat (see n.58) the instrumentssimply double the voices, mostly up Herrn JubilateDeoa 10 (Symphoniae sacrae... an octave, and in G. Gabrieli's liber secundus (Venice, 1615) a cornett doubles a lower part two octaves higher. for example, Praetorius,Syntagmamusicum,ii, p.22. 135See, 136The range in the other movement of the Magnificata 7 in which the instrumentappears,'Sicut locutus est', is similar,but with some written top d's. 'trombone doppia' is a lower instrument than 137Praetorius's Monteverdi's music requires, but he also describes the more common 'Quart-Posaun',a 4th or 5th below the ordinary (tenor) trombone, with a normal range of over two octaves down from c'; this seems most suited for Monteverdi'smusic. (Syntagma musicum, ii, pp.31-2.) semitone extension is shown by the figure '5' in the 138This tablatures found in GasparoZannetti, Il scolaro(Milan, 1645) 139Bar 49, violin II 140For example, in only three passages in Selva morale 1411t occurs in one passage in Selva morale, in one bar in the et guerrienr posthumous Messa et salmi, and just once in Madrigali amorosi(Venice, 1638). The instrumental parts Malipiero prints in le opere, di Poppea(Tutte Act II, scene 3 of Lincoronazione xiii, pp. 13034) come from the Naples manuscript--the 'autograph'has a bass line and blank staves above-so the d"' cannot be cited as Monteverdi's. 142Marini,Affettimusicali(Venice, 1617) 143Marini,Sonate,symphonie... e retornelli (Venice, 1629) 144Buonamente, II quartolibro de varie sonate, sinfonie,gagliarde, e Brandi(Venice, 1626) corrente, dellecanzonidasuonare(c1631-3; Venice, 145Merula,IIsecondolibro 2/1639) 1615). There are 16 parts labelled 'violino', of which 146(Venice, four go beyond c'";three of these are in the GI clef and have d"' as their top note, while the remaining one, evidently in the otherwise usual G2 clef, also has an e"'. Grantedthe loose terminologyof the period and the youthfulness of the violin family in the early 1600s, one must at least consider the possibility that these parts were intended for Praetorius's'KleinDiscant Geig',tuned a 4th above the instrumentmusicum, common violin (Syntagma ii, p.26 and Theatrum orum,pl.XXI).Pace D. D. Boyden ('Monteverdi'sVioliniPiccoli and vi (1958-63)), the 'violini Annales musicologiques, Violeda Braccio', piccoli alla francese' in Act II of Monteverdi'sOrfeocould well be that instrument. However,Zacconi, in a slightly confusing passage 516 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
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(op cit, f.218), says that 'per artificio & giuditio' (through skill and judgement)the violin's range of a 17th can be extended by 'some' extra notes; it does not follow, though, that these notes would (cf. Praetorius's appearin compositions or even occur in performance Mersenne exceptionallow notes for the bass voice, above).(Similarly, (opcit, p. 179) observes that 'excellent violinists ... can ascend each string up to the octave'.) in stil modemo. . libroprimo Castello, Sonate concertate 147Dario (Venice, 1621) and librosecondo(Venice, 1629) Canzonioverosonate concertate per chiesa e camera... 148[Merula,] libroterzo(Venice, 1637) '49Elsewhere Monteverdiwrites down to C in the bassusgeneralis, too; the note was generally available on Italian organs of the time. above and n.25. 15oSee op cit, p.71 '•5Kurtzman, 152See H. S. Powers, 'Tonal types and modal categories in Renaissance polyphony, JAMS,xxxiv (1981), p.467. Sacraecantiunculae (Venice, 1582) '53Monteverdi, for example, C. V. Palisca, 'TheArtusi-MonteverdiContro'54See, ed. D. Arnold and N. Fortune Companion, versy', The Monteverdi (London, 1968), pp. 133-66.
In EARLYMUSIC February 1985 Jeffrey Kurtzman will add some reflections on pitch in Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610
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AndrewParrott
in Monteverdi's Vespers Transposition An'aberration' defended of 1610
'aberration',2 while others find the results revelatory.
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I Claudio Monteverdi: portrait by Bernardo Strozzi (1584-1644) (TirolerLandesmuseum Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck)
But if the very familiarityof the work makes objective assessment difficult, it has the advantageof focusing attention on a vital but neglected area of historical performancepractice, one of directrelevance to a host of less well-known pieces. With the release of my recording of the 1610 Vespers,3the time is obviously ripe for a detailed defence of the practice. Monteverdihas had the misfortune to be labelled a Baroquecomposer and a Venetian composer, despite the facts that he published six collections before the 17th century even began and that he worked in Mantua until he was 45. Consequently his music has often been viewed in a false light. Instrumentalwriting of the kind illustrated in ex.1 would perhaps have seemed unexceptional in its technical demands to a musician of the early 18th century; in 1610 it would undoubtedly have seemed revolutionary in its high tessitura. And there lies the crux of the matter.Do the high vocal and instrumentalranges of the Magnificat a 7 serve a new dramatic function through an (as it were)Beethovenianstretchingof existing conventions? Oris this all an illusion, caused by a trick of notation that would have ruffled none of Monteverdi's contemporaries?
Ex.1 Monteverdi, Vespers (1610), Magnificat a 7, 'Deposuit'
Ours is an essentially conservative musical climate, I (a) Cornett and attempts to reproduce historical styles of performance still tend to be viewed with suspicion. It is therefore not surprising that to transpose parts of a recognized masterpiece should be regardedby some almostas an act of heresy. I firstdirecteda performance of Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers in 1977, and on that (b) Violin I occasion,1 as on subsequent ones, the psalm Lauda Jerusalemand the Magnificat a 7 were given a 4th IA. below their writtenpitch. (Thediscussion that follows is quite independent of absolute pitch standards appropriateto Monteverdi'smusic: the issue is that of the relative pitch-levels of the various Vespers move-P ments.) Reactions to the idea of the transpositions 9) have been predictably mixed: one of our best-known Monteverdi conductors has described them as an
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EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
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LaudaJerusalemand the Magnificat a 7 lie consistently at a higher written pitch-level than the other Vespers movements, a fact which is reflected in (or caused by) the choice of a different set of clefs. These high clefs and what I shall call normalclefs are shown in ex.2. (The anachronistic terms chiavetteand chiavi naturalineed not be used.)4There are variants of both
Ex.2 High and normal clef configurations
S high clefs: A T B G2 C2 C3 F3
normal clefs: C1 C3 C4 F4
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sets of clefs, but the configuration in use may generally be identified quite easily from the clef of the lowest part:normal clefs have the bass clef (F4),while high clefs have baritone, tenor or even alto clef (F3 (=C5), C4 or C3). The presence or absence of a key signaturewith a particularclef or set of clefs can affect the implications for transpositionand will be indicated in subsequent examples by (6) or (-) after each clef. In his 1610 publication Monteverdiuses high clefs not only for these two movements but also for the alternativeMagnificata 6, and for the whole of the sixwhich takes pride of place in part Mass In illo tempore the collection.' Again we must ask whether the clefs simply reflect the composer's decision to write in a higher tessitura than elsewhere (perhaps in response to the texts) or whether the use of such clefs is the result of certaintheoretical conventions which, though of little consequence to the singer, acted as a clearly understood signal to the instrumentalistto transpose. Although an understandingof these general questions is fundamental to the performance of Renaissance polyphony, there has been very little serious research of practical value since the late 1940s, when Arthur Mendel published his findings.6 Performersfor the most part have been seemingly oblivious to the problems and editors have perpetuated this state of affairs by failing to produce transposed editions of high-clef works, perhaps because of a horror of offending certain 'scholarly' principles.
In this article I shall try to show that 'obligatory transposition' is implicit in the notation of much vocal music of the late 16th and early 17th centuries and that some of Monteverdi's music (notably Lauda Jerusalem and the Magnificat a 7) requires it. I shall suggest that downward transposition of a 4th brings those Vespers movements into line with what is known both of
contemporaryvocal types and of instrumental technique, and I shall therefore need to demonstrate that instrumentalistswere equipped to transpose. Finally,I shall speculate briefly on Monteverdi's reasons for choosing to notate certain pieces at what is, to us, the 'wrong' pitch. But before looking in any detail at Monteverdi's works, the considerable evidence for conventions of transposition during the period of the composer's lifetime (1567-1643) must be examined. I shall concentrate on Italian and Germansources; the latter(in particularthe writingsof Praetorius) are often concerned with Italian practices and are therefore an invaluable supplement. These sources fall broadly into three categories: theoretical writings, keyboard instruments and musical sources. Theoretical writings
In his Dimostrationi harmoniche (1571) the Venetian
composer and theorist Zarlinoconsiders the possible writtentransposition of each of his 12 modes either up or down an octave, or up a 4th or down a 5th; that is, to just one alternative level, if we exclude octave transpositions. Almost in parenthesis he comments: 'Noi altri Organistilo sapiamo, quanto sia di utile queste trasportationi:& come si possino fare' (We organists know how useful these transpositions are, and how they can be made).7Fora player fluent in all the clefs, transposition down a 5th is a simple matterof substituting one clef for another and of adjusting the signature;8an organist playing from a high-clef bass line written in C4 would, for example, imagine an F4 clef in its place (ex.3).
Ex.3
=
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-
The organist's concept of transposition as the alteration of written pitches by a particular interval was not shared by the singer of the 16th and 17th centuries, for whom written notes represented not fixed pitches but a series of intervallic relationships. The position of the clef and the presence or absence of a flat dictated where the semitones occurred among
the tones and hence the appropriate solmization. Cerone (1613) gives a table of those clefs that are equivalent in terms of solmization (ex.4) and comments: se Concluyremos pues quealgunasClaves, puntualmente parecen, en todolo quetocaal leer,y al hazerdelas masdilfieren Mutanqas; solamente en las letrasy posiciones; la qualdifferenqa (comodixe) no es de consideracion a cercadel Cantante; el qual no considera
EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 491
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otra cosa mas, que entonar sus vozes rectamente,con la de los intervalosde Tonoy Semitono. observacion
vi e necessanio intendere unaltrasortedi trasportationi perpoter al Choroin voce commoda, tanto nel Canto rispondere figurato, partede gl'Organi We mayconclude,then, that some clefs [withtheirsigna- quantonel Cantofermo.E perchela maggior si bisognache l'Organista thatconcerns lookexactlyalikein everything tures] reading sono alti, fuora del TuonoChoristo, accommodi sonare di un & una Terza bassa. strada, Tuono, fuor d and the placingof the mutations; they differsolely in the
this difference lettersandpositions[i.e.pitch-names]; (as I to the singer, whois concerned said)is of no concern onlyto the intervals of tones soundhis notes correctly, observing and semitones.9
Ex.4Cerone, El melopeoy maestro (Naples,1613), p.494
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Thus, if an organist chooses to accompany voices at a pitch other than the written one, he is involved in a transposition,but the singersarenot. (Forconvenience, the term 'transposition'is used in this article for vocal and instrumental music alike, but this distinction in procedure should always be understood.) This should not beguile us into thinking of the singer as someone unconcerned with pitch-level: as we shall see, several theorists are quite explicit in saying that the organist's transpositions are made precisely to suit the voices. The surprisingly wide range of intervals of transposition cultivated by organists in particular may misleadinglygive the impressionof completeflexibility. It is important,rather,to think of these transpositions as being in two separate categories which sometimes overlap:first, the largerintervals of transposition (of a 4th or 5th)necessary to reconcile most high-clef music with normal vocal ranges; second, those fine adjustments (of a tone) that take into account the tessitura of a particularwork or the pitch of a particularorganour main interest here is with the first category.Transposition of a minor 3rd may have been considered a combination of the two categories: a primarytransposition of a 4th, modified by a tone (and in some contexts transposition of a 4th consists of a primary transposition of a 5th adjusted by a tone). This division seems to be acknowledged by Diruta (1609),who devotes a chapter of his keyboardtreatise, Il transilvano,to 'la vera formatione, cognitione, e transportationedi tutti i Tuoni, si del Canto figurato,
come anco del Canto fermo: Cosa appartenente ad ogni Organista per lasciare in Tuono al Choro' (the true formation, recognition and transposition of all the Tones, whether of polyphony or of chant: a matter concerning every organist when he is giving the pitch to the choir).'0 After illustrating the Tones and their transpositions a 4th higher or 5th lower, he writes:
492 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
it is necessary to understand another sortof transposition in order to be ableto respond to the choirata convenient pitchlevel, whetherin polyphonyor in chant.Andbecausethe of organs are high and not at choir pitch, the majority organistneeds to become accustomedto playingoutside [theusual keys],a tone and a 3rdlower.11 Dirutathen gives short, two-voice musical examples in the 12 modes, each with one, two or three transpositions 'per commodita del Choro':except in the case of Tone 2, all the transpositions are downwards and, predictably,transposition down a 2nd or a (minor) 3rd is common. In Tones 5, 7, 9 and 12, where G2 clefs are used for the upper parts, the intervals of transposition are wider (down a 4th, 5th and, once, a minor 7th).12 Such transpositions were by no means new. 13 Galilei (1581) mentions in passing that 'i periti Organisti' (skilled organists) are accustomed to transpose 'per comodita del coro per un Tuono, o per una Terza,o per altro intervallo'(for the convenience of the chorus, by a tone, a 3rd or some other interval).14 But the full range of transpositions was not possible on instruments tuned in mean-tone temperaments.Cima(1606) recognized and attempted to solve the problem by giving directions for the wholesale retuning of accidentals for each semitonal transposition. (Althoughhe is addressing organists, his rules are for the tuning of 'un Clavicordo'.)
io di quanta importanzasia d gli Organisti, Conoscendo per de Cantori ne i concerti loro,il sapersonarein qualsi commodita m' parsolodevol delnostro Instrumento; voglialuogo,&intervallo con chesi possa agevolmente cosa darein luceil modo; far questa lo mostra chiaroil sia necessaria, prattica... Et chequestapratica famoso Zerlino [sic] nel quarto libro delle sue Institutioni al capitolo17 armoniche Recognizingas I do how importantit is for organists to know
andinterval on ourinstrument howto playatanypitch-level it seemedto forthe convenienceof singersin theirconcerti, me laudableto makeknowna means by which one may is necessary . .. That thispractice easilyputthisintopractice
is shown clearlyin book4, chapter 17 of the famous Zarlino's Istitutioniharmoniche.15 Even if Cima's recommended procedure is impracticable for organs-and no other musician or theorist of the Baroque is known to have described it-he does unequivocally expect organists to be able to play in the remoter keys.
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' alla quarta, di queltuono.Trasportar Each untransposed Tone and its prescribed trans- mai mostrala naturalezza e tal voltauna vocepiu' e commodo di tutti: position admitted of a few specific accidentals only. In quinta,e pid naturale, 6 convien veder ed in somma szi; quel piuzproprioe the Intonationi d'organo(1593) by Andrea and Giovanni gil, piuz e non chepretendono tuono: come alcuni, fanno conferente d quel Gabrieli,16 there are therefore just six different acciin s'io alla suonar tuono corda; perche disputar potessi ogni ogni dentals altogether: B natural, the flats on B and E and ed error loro. mostrarei l'impropietd, lunga, gli the sharps on F, C and G. Certain transpositions, Finally, one must know how to transpose pieces from one though, inevitably introduced further, unfamiliar accito another so that all the consonances are correct, degree dentals such as A flat and D sharp. The occasional and proper to the given Tone. Otherwise one must not written appearance of these new keys in vocal polytranspose, because, as I have sometimes observed, it makes phony had already drawn adverse comment from a very disagreeable sound [, for example,]to transpose a first Zarlino (1558)17 and Galilei (1581),18 though Rodio or second Tone, naturally pleasing because of its many B (1609)19 explains how singers can simplify the solflats, to some degree whose Tone requiresB natural;it will be mization process by substituting high for normal clefs difficult [even] for the careful player to avoid stumbling and vice versa. Cerone (1613) summarizes the position against some conflicting note. And thus, the ensemble is as follows: spoiled and the listeners are offended with such crudity, while the naturalcharacterof the given Tone never appears. Losquales[accidentales son mas usados aunque extraordinarios], de los Organistas conel Choro, mejor paraaccomodarse quede los Most natural and convenient of all is transposition by a 4th sus obras,por la difficultadque or 5th, and sometimes a note higher or lower; in short, one Compositores para componer 6 must see which is most appropriateand suitable to the given de vertantosBe moles,y tantosBequadrados tienenlos Cantores .. de cantar de las cuerdas ordinarias; todas Sostenidos, Tone, not as some do who pretendto play everyTone at every y fuera las JSequencias] estanconesta bsefialen unasola level, for if I could argue at length, I would show them their queapuntadas 6 con su Octava, son las accidentales mas improprietyand error.21 posicionde befabemi, usadasde los Compositores. Digomasusadasde los Compositores, We should note here the emphasis given to the 'basic' todas indifferentemente porquantode los eccelentesOrganistas intervals of transposition: a 4th, 5th and tone. son praticadas y usadas:es asaver,quandouno y quandootro,y If none of these Italian theorists unequivocally estosegunel Tono alto 6 baxodel Organo, deaquel usandosiempre associates downward transposition and high-clef que sale mas comodopara el Choro. there may be good reason. First, as I have music, are used These [extraordinary more accidentals], though, by organists to suit the choir better than by composers in shown, the concept of transposition did not exist for composing their works, because of the difficulty singers the singer, and thus the theoretical writing on singing have when they see so many flats and so many naturals or does not touch on the subject. Second, organists sharps and have to sing on unfamiliar staff-degrees;... all themselves may perhaps have scarcely regarded such the [species] that are notated with a single B flat, or with its manoeuvres as transposition-they, too, thought octave, are the accidental ones most used by composers. I largely in terms of solmization syllables-and in any say most used by composers, because all [the above case were so thoroughly schooled in the art of transpositions] are practised and used equally easily by transposition for the purpose of accommodating vocal excellent organists: that is, now one and now another ranges that the need would have been obvious. None according to the high or low pitch of the organ, always using of the Italian theorists concern themselves with exthe one that best suits the choir.20 plaining exactly when transpositions are necessary; Clearly there was resistance to the use of complicated they merely assert that they are indeed necessary and keys in vocal notation. In Agazzari's essay on continuo advise how to make them. playing (1607) we may also detect a reaction against It is Praetorius (1619) who, in characteristically the remoter unwritten transpositions sometimes thorough and practical fashion, clarifies the matter: practised: le Cantilene da un Finalmenteconvienesaper anco trasportare Obzwar ein jederGesang, welcherhoch Claviret das ist da im Linivonobenan zu zehlen, tasto ad un 'altro,quando perd vi sono tutte le consonanze naturali, Bass das I, uff deranderoderdritten Linialso wird; e proprie di quel tono; perche altrimenti non si debbon trasportare, oderdas 9 uffderdritten Wenner befunden perche fa brutissimo sentire, come io alle volte ho osservato, che b mol, per quartaminferioremin durum;Wenn er aber dur, in dieTabulatur trasportando un primo, over secondo tono, che sono di natura per quintaminferioremin mollem, naturaliter Lauttenisten und allen andern, die soave, per le molte corde di B. molle, in qualche tasto, ch ' suo tuono oderPartiturvon Organisten, unnd sia di B. quadro, difficilmente chi suona, esser tanto cauto, sich der Fundament Instrumentengebrauchen, gebracht potra, muss:So befindet sich doch,dass in etlichen che non inciampi in qualche contraria voce; e cosi vien d guastarsi transponiretwerden Modis,Als in Mixolydio,Aeolio undHypojonico,wennsie per il conserto, et offender ludito de gl ascoltanti con tal crudezza anzi
a
EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
493
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the importance of downward transposition of a 4th and 5th in association with highclef bass parts but also gives various transpositions for normal-clef bass parts. Similarly, Bismantova's Compendio musicale (1677-9) gives instructions as part of Everyvocal piece in high clefs, i.e., where the bass is written the 'Regole; p[er] suonare il Basso Continuo',27 for in C4 or C3, or F3, must be transposed when it is put into transposing down a 4th and a 5th (although without tablatureor score for players of the organ, lute and all other reference to high clefs) and proceeds to describe other foundation instruments, as follows: if it has a flat, down a transpositions. Later, Samber (1707)28 specifically 4th in durum,but if it has no flat, down a 5th in mollem, associates the high-clef notation of 'old Introits, naturaliter. Yet if some modes, e.g. Mixolydian,Aeolian and Graduals and Counterpoint-Masses' with downward Hypoionian, are transposed by a 5th, a duller and worse (when the lowest clef is F3, by a 4th; harmonyis produced because of the lower sounds; hence it transposition when C4, by a 5th). And much later still, Paolucci is much better, and the piece becomes much fresher and more spiritedto listen to, if these modes aretransposed by a (1772)29 gives examples from Palestrina, Benevoli and Colonna of high-clef music and calls for transposition 4th, ex duroin durum.22 down a 4th or 5th. Later, in a section on organ continuo, these principles are taken almost for granted: Keyboardinstruments Dieses aber muss sonderlichallhier observiret und in acht Fromthe theoretical material we move to the second welche Mixolydij, dass in denen Gesdngen, genommenwerden, categoryof evidence, which though small is significant: in inferiorem und (weiles in the nature of certain 16th- and Hypojonici Modi, quartam AEolij early 17th-century und derQuint wie obenangezeigt. seyn m6chte, allzuschldfferig instruments. this section a brief departkeyboard (For sonderlichuffn in der Quartsich etwas frischerund anmutiger, ure from the restrictions to Italian and self-imposed Instrumentenhorenlest)transponiretwerden, fornan beydem German seems practices justified.) Clave Signata 9 die Diesis # bezeichnet. The notion that downward transposition, in partiButthis especially must be observed and taken note of here: is cular that of a 4th, regularly required in the that in those songs which, [being] in Mixolydian, Aeolian Renaissance and early Baroque and Hypoionian modes, are to be transposed a 4th lower performance of late (because down a 5th, as shown above, maybe too sleepy, and music receives strong support from the disposition of down a 4th sounds rather fresher and more pleasant, the contemporary Flemish two-manual harpsichord. especially on harpsichords) a sharp is marked at the With a slightly patronizing air, Quirinus van Blankenbeginning beside the clef.23 burg (1739) looks back to the early 17th century: zo onervaren dat menom (We should note in passing the special importance of In die tyd was men in de Transpositie eenig spel een quart lager te honnen transponeren expreseen transposition down a 4th.) tweede clavierin de clavicimbelmaahte,Het schynt byzonder If Praetorius seems rather dogmatic, we must at least maart bewyst welhzeeraanmerhensweerdig is, zal't ongelooflyh, acknowledge that none of the Italian theorists contra- zelve bewaarheiden, datde vermaarde Rucherssen van'tbeginder dicts him in any way.24 A decade or so later, another voorlede eew af tot meerals 30 jarendaarna nietandershebben German theorist, Wolfgang Schonsleder (1631), gives a gemaaht complete set of high clefs (G2 C2 C3 F3) and declares Atthat time, they were so inexperienced in transpositionthat that he is 'amazed to see the majority of musicians in orderto be able to transpose a piece a 4th downwardsthey customarily writing many of their songs in them, made a special second keyboard in the harpsichordfor the although they know that if anyone wishes to sing them purpose. This seems incredible, but the proof, which is very remarkable,will show that the famous Ruckersfamily from they will have to be transposed downwards'.25 With the development of instrumental music, free the beginning of the last century for more than 30 years of vocal models, the concept of fixed pitches began to made nothing else.30 predominate; hence in due course the problem of On a normal double-manual Ruckers harpsichord the understanding the different notated pitch-levels of shorter upper keyboard stood at 'standard' pitch and earlier periods. But a tradition of performing this the lower one a 4th lower, with the upper c' key aligned with the lower f' and sounding the same strings. (Some earlier repertory would appear to have continued earlier organs may well have had a similar disposition.)31 through the 17th century, and, with it, the necessary skills of transposition. Penna's Li primi albori musicali Only one such harpsichord survives in its original
(1672)26 emphasizes 494 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
quintam transponiret, eine languidior & pigrior harmonia propter graviores sonos generiret werde:Darumbes dann ungleich besser,und wird auch der Gesangviel frischerund wenn diese Modi per quartamex duro in zuhdren, anmuthiger durum transponiret werden.
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2 Two-manualharpsichord by Joannes Ruckers, 1638 (Russell Collection, University of Edinburgh)
state, the 1638 Joannes Ruckersin the Russell Collection, EdinburghUniversity32 (illus.2), but more than a dozen others by members of the Ruckersfamily from before 1642, plus a 1646 Joannes Couchet, show signs of having originally been transposing instruments. Furthermore, although double-manual instruments without this feature can be shown to have been in existence by 1620, the earliest surviving example, by Hans Moermansthe Younger,dates only from 1642.33 So though Blankenburgmay not necessarily be right in regardingthe principal function of these instruments to be transposition,34 their nature clearly facilitates it. Other fragments of organological information also hint at the co-existence of two pitch standardsa 4th or so apartfrom each other. Althoughmuch of the history of the Italian harpsichordis still ratherobscure, it has been plausibly suggested that surviving instruments were built at pitches a 4th or 5th apart;35 unfortunately the issue is complicated by the fact that strings of brass and steel imply different optimumpitch-levels.36 Clearlythere was great diversityof pitch standard;but, equally clearly, there was broadunderstandingof how these pitches were related. Banchieri (1608), for ex-
ample, in tuning an organ or 'strumento da penna' (quilled keyboard instrument), recommends starting with an F, 'quella si pone in tuono della natura dell'instromento in voce corista overo un tuon piu" basso overo 4. superiore, o inferiore'(which you set at the naturalpitch of the instrument, [whether]at choir pitch or a tone lower or a 4th higher or lower).37 Similarly,Praetoriusdescribes the spinettaas being an octave or 5th above 'normal' pitch3 and labels his woodcut of a harpsichord'Clavicymbel,so eine Quart tieffer als Chor-Ton'(Harpsichord,a 4th lower than choir pitch).39 There were also some single-manual keyboard instruments that could be set at different pitch-levels. A Venetian harpsichord now in Cambridge, probably 16th-century,seems to have had a third set of strings of a different scale from the others and possibly tuned a tone higher,40 while a 17th-centuryregal in the Heyer Collection had a keyboard that could be shifted by a tone.41 The principle of the sliding keyboard was evidently known in Germanyas early as 1537,42 and Carl Luython's clavicymbalum universale,which Praetorius describes,43had a keyboard(with 19 keys to the
EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 495
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octave) that could be set in any of seven positions, covering a major 3rd. A little later G. B. Doni (1635)44 mentions a harpsichordby a Florentinemaker,lacopo Ramerino, 'nel quale ingegnosamente con muover solo la chiave del Registro,l'istesse corde servirannoal tuono di Roma, a quel di Firenze, & a quel di Lombardia' (in which, ingeniously, just by moving the the same strings will give you the pitch of register Rome, that of Florence and that of Lombardy). Discrepancies in musical sources Having discussed theorists and instruments, we now turn to the third category of evidence: the musical sources. Numerous instances could be cited of works (masses and other cyclic compositions) with some movements in high and some in low clefs, producing implausibly wide vocal ranges (e.g. Palestrina'sfourpart Missa de beata Virgine (1567),45 Le Jeune's threesection 'Aeolian' piece from his Dodecacorde (1598)46 and Landi's II Sant'Alessio(1634).47 These certainly suggest the need for transposition but do not provide conclusive proof of it, so I shall confine this discussion to examples that offer more explicit evidence. Occasional discrepancies between keyboard intabulations and their vocal counterparts suggest a pattern of transposition consistent with Praetorius's rules. Forexample, a version in organ tablatureof the dolori Kyrieand GloriafromJacob Handl'sMissa Adesto meo'lies a 4th lower than the original, which uses the clefs G2 G2 C2 C3 F3 (b).48 Printed anthologies of intabulations confirm that such transpositions are not made simply to accommodate the pitch of a particular instrument. The first section of Bernhart Schmid's 1577 collection49 contains 20 works: 19 motets and a chanson. Of the eight originally notated in high clefs, four remain untransposed, two are put down a 5th and two down a 4th. (Thetwo down a 5th have no signature in the original;of the two down a 4th, one has a flat, the other does not.) There are no obvious reasons for this inconsistency of approach to high-clef music. Jacob is rathermore revealPaix'svolume of six years later5" ing. Of 24 motets, seven in normal clefs are untransposed, while 16 in high clefs aretransposeddown a 4th or a 5th. (Ofthese, all 12 with a flat signature are down
a 4th, whereas the four without are transposed down a 5th.) Only one piece with high clefs is left untransposed. It could be argued that all these intabulations are independent of their models and that any adjustments of pitch are merely examples of editorial taste. Against this must be set the very considerable number of
496 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
differences of pitch-level that occur not between different sources but within a single piece. Publications for lute and voices are invaluable in this respect; a vocal part may be notated in one key, while the tablature of its accompaniment implies another. (Adriaenssen'sPratummusicum(1584) gives intabulations of high-clef works generally down a 4th but sometimes down a 5th.)5"The Roman publisher Simone Verovioissued several collections which offer examples of both lute and keyboardversions alongside their vocal originals. The first of these, Diletto spirituale (1586) contains 21 three- and four-voice devotional pieces, each printed in parts on a left-hand page, and opposite them, versions for keyboardand for lute in G (illus.3).52There is a clear pattern of transposition, identifiable in this case from the clef of the top part and the signature: when the clef is Cl, there is no transposition,when it is G2(-),transposition is down a down a 4th. (Thesingle exception 5th, and when G2(b), which may be an error:Nanino's Jesus in pace imperat, has a G2 clef, has a transposed lute intabulationbut an untransposed keyboardversion.) The secular music of Verovio's similar Lodi della musica (1595) follows exactly the same system; of the 18 items 9 are The six madrigals'percantarnel Chittartransposed.53 rone' in Salamone Rossi's first published collection54 also follow this pattern. The tablature for chitarrone (in A)matches the pitch of the four that use Cl and F4 clefs, whereas the two that use G2 and F3 clefs (6) appear a 4th lower in the tablature. Although most organists would have been fluent in at least a few transpositions,written-outtranspositions in staff notation are not uncommon. Among the solo items of the Cento concerti ecclesiastici (1602) of are six which, exceptionally, have Lodovico Viadana55 the voice partin a high clef (G2for soprano,C2for alto, and C3 for tenor, all (b)),written a 4th higher than the organ part.Thereare comparableexamples elsewhere in the collection, among the works for several voices. Similarly, two isolated items in G. F. Anerio's Antiseu sacraecantiones(1613)have organcontinuo phonae, parts a 4th below the voice parts,56 and in the set of the followMagnificatspublishedby Johann Stadlmayr ing year, there is one in high clefs with its two organ
parts notated a 4th lower.57 We now come to the music of Heinrich Schfitz, who studied in Venice with Giovanni Gabrieli and later perhaps also with Monteverdi himself, and whose substantial output is particularly valuable in establishing principles of transposition. His setting of
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is in fact a reworking Psalm 111, Ich danhedemHerrn,58 of Giovanni Gabrieli's double-choir madrigal 'per cantar et sonar', Lietogodea a 8;19in the original each choir has the high-clef configuration G2 C2 C3 F3(-), while in Schfitz's version the clefs are Cl C3 C4 and the music is a 5th lower. Morerevealing still C5(b) is the notation of Schitz's Musicalische Exequien (1636), where the voices are in high clefs (in A minor),but the continuo part is printed a 4th lower (in E minor).60 Schfitz himself explains:
zum Vorteil, und Den Bassum Continuumhabeich denSangemrn zu diesen Werche zu beriirung derenauffder Orgel mirgefalligen mir chorden eine Quarta niedriger transponiret, ohngeachtet nicht ohnwissend,dass ad Quintam inferius, es auff der Orgel hommen, damit auch vielleicht den ohngeibten natuirlicher eines theils bessergedienetgewesen were. Organisten
explaining the transposition as a step taken 'for the benefit of the singers'. But the point at issue is that he is taking for granted downwardtransposition by a 5th for a work in high clefs (without signature);he thinks, however, that in this case the pitch then becomes too low for his singers and so he transposes down by a 4th instead, thus making things more difficult for 'the inexperienced organist', who now has to read a part We find with the still unusual signatureof one sharp.61 the same transposition down a 4th (fromA minor to E
minor) in the seventh of the Zwolf geistliche Gesange (1657),62 where the vocal partsare notated in high clefs
(withoutsignature)and the organparthas one sharp.It is perhaps a little surprisingthat in the second half of the 17th century Schfitz should still expect singers to be aware of the transposing convention and to prefer Butthere is one important to havethe chords to avoid a sharp signature.63 Forthe benefitof the singersandin order in this workplayedon the organ,I havetransposed additional feature: the work is explicitly headed 'ad I prefer I amwellaware that Quarteminferiorem'(a 4th lower). thebassocontinuodowna4th,although on the organa 5thlower, it wouldgo morenaturally thereby organist. Instructions in musical sources making thingseasierforthe inexperienced perhaps At first glance, it may seem that Schfitz is simply We have seen examples of discrepancies between two
EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER1984 497
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independent sources (suggesting a convention of transposing) and of discrepancies within a single source (revealing the clear necessity of transposing). In a last glance at the evidence of contemporary musical sources, we turn to those which contain explicit instructions or advice on the subject. The earliest example would appear to be from the first publication of sacred music to include a basso continuo, Viadana'scollection of 1602, alreadycited.64
the player,and we have alreadynoted two examples in his seusacraecantiones wherea transposition Antiphonae, is writtenout. The collection is an exceptionally large one and therefore of exceptional value in assessing Of the 244 works, 37 use any systematic approach.67 these are all marked 'Allaquarta'or 'Alla4' high clefs; in the bassus ad organumpartbook and no other interval of transposition occurs. A further 14 items have the rubric'sonate come sta' (play it as it stands); There the third and fourth items, Fratres,ego enim accepi these are works, without vocal bass and with the continuo part in a C4 clef, which might otherwise and its second part Accipite et manducate, are intended for 'Canto solo over cornetto', while the organ part appear to be high-clef pieces needing transposition. (writtena 4th lower)bears the rubric'Sonando questo The importanceof three features of Anerio'scollection sonarala quartaalto cannot be over emphasized. First,the complete conConcertoco'l Cornettol'Organista cosi' (When playing this concerto with cornett, the sistency of clef and transposition:all high-clef pieces organist will play a 4th higher, thus); there follow the are to be transposed, and none of those in normal first few notes a 4th higher. In other words, the piece clefs. Second, the exclusive importance of transmay be performedeither vocally (at the lower pitch) or position by a 4th, whichever clef is used for the continuo part (C3, C4 or F3); Verovio's and others' instrumentally(at the higher pitch). CasparVincentius evidently preferredto leave cer- distinction between pieces without signature (down a tain options of transposition open to the organist. In a 5th) and those with one flat (down a 4th) is not preface to the bassusgeneralispartpreparedby him for observed here. Third,the implication contained in the Schadaeus'santhologyPromptuarium phrase 'sonate come sta' that a bass part in a C4 clef part2 of Abraham musicum(1611) he writes: would automatically suggest transposition to a keyboard player. sed in descriptione nulldusus sum harmoniarum transpositione: A slightly more complicated but consistent picture extant, Quilibet reliquiClavibus. singulasin suis, ut in exemplari et from a study of Polyhymniacaduceatrix emerges signatas igitur pro suo lubitu, praesertimhac Clavi 9 collection Praetorius's Michael large (1619), panegyrica Praeterea vel perQuintam velper Quartam cantiones, transponat Calculi of polychoral music68 issued in the same year as the atqueinstrumentorum organorum quia in his regionibus musicum.There are eight ne in duro tertiam majorem last volume of his Syntagma sive Claves ita conficiuntur, esse all without signature,and in sibi notated works habeamusOrganista clefs, imaginabitur high facile • clavem, - & habebitQuintam is the in the of these all but one inferiorem. bassusgeneralis against or 4th inferiorem' vel instruction (a 'quartam quintam of the pieces, but in the I havenot used anytransposition Aus 15 and nos. In notes 5th 16, tiefer lower). preceding I haveleftthemallin theirclefs,astheystandin the notation the composer reiterates the Not and Nun freut euch,69 a either he as So, by pleases may transpose originals. anyone in his made treatise70that here transposition thosecantiones 4thora 5th,especially givenwiththe C4clef point must be made, the former being 5th a 4th or down or calculi the because Furthermore, keys (without signature). in in these areasareso designed betterfor the voices. The exception, no.6, AlleinGott of organsand harpsichords the derH6hsei Ehr,the Lutheranversificationof the Gloria, 3rdin4 duro thatwedo nothavethe major [i.e.aboveB4], andwill is simply marked 'per quartam inferiorem', and in a the clef C4(-)to be F4(b) willeasilyimagine organist havethe lower5th. Missa:0 Vater separate note preceding no.5, Teutsche we may discover why transposition Gott, allmdchtiger Casually read, this may appear to suggest that trans- down a 5th is here ruled out: position is at the player'sdiscretion; but it is only the
choice of interval (a 4th or 5th) that is in fact free. Vincentius sees no point in notating a transposition of a 5th when this can easily be achieved by a simple clefsubstitution and prefers to avoid those transpositions of a 4th which introduce the tuning problems of sharp keys.66 In contrast, G. F. Anerio seems to leave no choices to 498 EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
In den Kirchen,do das Gloria vor dem Altar gesungen wird, muss man das (Preissei Gott)aussen lassen, und sobald das Allein Gott a 6 & 12 anfangen. Aberes muss um eine Quart in derHoh sei Ehr, damit es in den rechten Ton mit dem musicirt werden, tiefer vorhergehendenKyrie. 0 Gott Vater, Christe,etc. fiberein homme.
In churches where the Gloriais sung in front of the altar,one
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4 Musicians in a gallery: brown wash and ink drawing by Domenico Canuti (1620-1684) (Pierpont Morgan Library,New York)
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mustomitthe Preis sei Gott andimmediately on the ear. begintheAllein pleasantly Gott inder Hoh a 6 and 12;butit mustbe performed seiEhr a All this may appear to indicate a new level of 4thlower, in pitch[orkey] so thatit agrees withthepreceding sophistication; but 80 years earlierGalilei (and before 0 GottVater, etc. Christe, Kyrie, him Bermudo)had expected 'skilled organists' to be In other words, if the Kyrie(which is in normal clefs) familiarwith these various intervals of transposition. and Gloria (in high clefs) were to match in key, Whatis new is that the composer's own precise wishes avoiding a downward shift of a tone, the interval of are made explicit. (Thisin itself may perhaps suggest a greater degree of pitch standardization than in the transposition was necessarily a 4th, not a 5th. Comparable instructions, though without elabor- earlier period.) Superficially, it may be taken to i undermine the simple principle that high-clef music ation, are found in Schiitz's Kleine geistlicheConcerte, (1636).Here,the only three pieces writtenin high clefs, be transposed to the 'normal'level. In fact, by allowing all without signature, are to be transposed down a 4th subtle adjustmentsto individualpieces (whileretaining or 5th, accordingto instructions given in the continuo a relatively simple notation), it reinforces the idea of For what- small, well-defined ranges for each category of voice part (e.g. 'Organumad quartaminferius').71 everreasons, there mayhave been an increasingdesire and thereby the absolute necessity of reconciling or need for composers and publishers of the 17th high- and normal-clef music. The two categories of century to be more explicit about the intended pitch- transposition described above have merely merged. levels of their music. The substantially revised 1661 In other words, where some composers would confine transposition of a reprint of Schfitz's PsalmenDavids op.5 (the Becker themselves to indicating 'obligatory' make smaller adjustor to 5th, leaving organists Psalter),72 originally published at Freiburg in 1628, 4th and allow for so on, here vocal range strongly hints at such a change of approach, and ments of pitch to the smaller several errors suggest a last-minute change of policy Schiitz for normal-clef pieces suggests he gives only concerning the method of presenting the various adjustments, while for high-clef pieces for a 4th down 'resultant' the example, and transposition, over in clefs 30 With high psalms transpositions."3 100 transposition instructions, these 158 pieces prob- (obligatory)and a tone up (adjustment),producing a ably represent the richest surviving source of infor- downwardtransposition of a minor 3rd. Before finally focusing our attention on the music mation on this subject.74 In the publication as a whole, which contains of Monteverdi,it will be as well to look back briefly at severalnew items, transpositiondown a 4th is indicated the evidence so far presented. FromZarlino (1571) to 35 times, with transposition down a 5th (as a second Cerone(1613)the theorists merelytell us that organists option) 17 times; each is almost alwaysassociated with should be capable of transpositions (often quite (1619)explains exactly transposition down complex ones), while Praetorius high-clef notation. Appropriately, a 3rd (which occurs 17 times, eight of them with high where transposition down a 4th or a 5th is necessary. clefs) is mostly a second option and is often marked The fact that almost all two-manual Flemish harpsiAdjustmentsof chords before the mid-17th century incorporated 'proexercitatis'ifor the experienced).75 a tone are also frequent; upwards 12 times and two different pitches a 4th apart emphasizes the downwards29 times. (It could be arguedthat the quite importance of transposition by a 4th. Keyboardand high incidence of transposition down a tone is related lute intabulationsfrombefore 1600 show transposition to the rather high pitch of Germanorgans; Praetorius of high-clef pieces down a 4th and a 5th (and also suggests this transposition for music of a wide sometimes a tone), while organ continuo parts from The purpose of these Viadana (1602) to Schitz (1657) reveal written-out rangewhere the cantus is high.)76 various transpositions is explained by Schiitz in a note transposition down a 4th and instructions or recommendations for transposition down a 4th (notably in at the end of the bassus continuuspart: Anerio (1613)) and, to a lesser extent, a 5th. One of diesesWerchleins (bevorab solcheTranspositionenbeyGebrauch Schiitz's last publications (1661) shows a greater alleine nicht = in denenhoch gezeichneten offtermals Systematis) hochndtigsondernauch der CantorumStimmenbequem.und variety of interval of transposition, but is wholly consistent with the idea of bringing high-clef writing desto angenehm dem Gehor fallen. in down to the more normalwrittenlevels, a principle (or In using this little worksuch transpositions (especially but at least a practice) that was still familiar to Samber thosewithhighclefs)areoftennot onlyverynecessary voices andfall allthe more (1707) and even Paolucci (1765-72). forthe singers' alsocomfortable
500 EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
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Monteverdi's 1610 Mass and Vespers: Voices
Monteverdi's 1610 publication contains four pieces notated in high clefs: Table1 Mass LaudaJerusalem a7 Magnificat a6 Magnificat S G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 A C2 C2 C2 C2 C2
pueriis to be transposed (ex.5).Thus if the 1650Laudate down a 4th, should not the Magnificat a 6 follow its example?79 The 1610 Mass, as we have observed, is notated in T B such a way as to suggest downwardtransposition by C3 C3 F3 (-) either a 4th or a 5th. The ranges of the work would C3 F3 F3(-) clearly seem to rule out the lower option because of C3 C3 F3 F3(b) the lower extremities of each voice (ex.6). They do, C3 C3 F3 (b) Ex.6 Vocal ranges in Monteverdi, Mass In illo tempore (1610) S B A T (&F3)77
I 1 A I
A A0* 0-
I A A
-
There are no instructions for transposition and the bassus generalis is consistently at the written pitchlevel of the other parts. Following Praetorius'sclearcut rules, the continuo player should play the Mass either a 5th or a 4th down, and the and Lauda Jerusalem two Magnificats a 4th down. (In practice, smaller intervals of transposition, of a tone and a minor 3rd, are perhaps feasible for the Magnificat a 6 but would place the virtuoso obbligato instrumental writing of the related Magnificat a 7 in wholly unacceptable keys; for LaudaJerusalem,and perhaps even for the Mass, transposition down a minor 3rd cannot be completely ruled out.) But does Monteverdi'smusic in general show any evidence of conforming to the conventions we have found documented and practised by Praetorius and others? In the large posthumous collection of Monteverdi's church music (1650) is a setting of Laudate pueri'a 5 notated in the clefs and signature of voci da Capella'78 the two 1610 Magnificats (G2 C2 C3 C3 F3 (6))and in the same key (G minor). Here the basso continuopart contains the unambiguous instruction 'Alla quarta Bassa'. Whether or not this was originally the composer's own marking,the suggested transposition was clearly considered reasonable by his editor (or at least by the user of the copy which the publisher had acquired).A comparison of the writtenvocal ranges of this psalm and of those of the Magnificata 6 reveals a predictablesimilarityand an identical overallcompass
Ex.5 Vocal ranges in Monteverdi, (a) Laudate pueri (1650) and (b) Magnificat a 6 (1610)
S A
A
FI
The ranges in square brackets are those of the extra parts which appear in the Crucifixus (alto) and' final Agnus Dei (bass).
however, match those of the 1650 Laudate pueri sufficiently for a performance at the same pitch as that, i.e. down a 4th, to be plausible. This possibility receives very strongsupportfrom two musical sources. In his Esemplareossia saggio fondamentalepraticodi sopraun cantofermoof 1775 the eminent contrappunto musical historian G. B. Martini quotes the Agnus Dei a 6 of Monteverdi's 1610 Mass down a 4th,80and in Bresciathere exists an organ score by LorenzoTonelli from the late 17th or early 18th century of the complete Mass, also a 4th lower.8' we have no such corroborative ForLaudaJerusalem evidence. Ex.7 compares its vocal ranges with those of other movements of the 1610 Vespers. To leave Lauda
and (b) other movements
(a) S I I
Ex.7Vocal in Monteverdi, Jerusalem ranges Vespers (1610), (a)Lauda
A .1 i T B I
(b)
A
A A * i ( I&
(0-) A - A (A *& > % * * W
Excluded are the motets (except the portion a 6 of Audi coelum) and, of course, the two high-clef Magnificats. Conflations have been made, since Monteverdi sometimes has more than one alto and bass part and also more than two tenor parts; but such doubles tend to move in the same range.
(aI
I
?
T
B
l
(b)
i
i
I
I
In this and subsequent examples, the notes in parentheses occur once only.
Jerusalem at its writtenpitch is to expand ranges which are alreadywide for the period by a small but critical amount; all except the tenor and second bass would extend above their ranges elsewhere in the Vespers. But if the psalm is transposed down a 4th, all its ranges (apartfrom two unique low notes in the alto part)are contained within the extremities of those found elsewhere. Ex.8, which compares these transposed ranges with those of the Mass and of the 1650 Laudate
EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 501
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downa 4th,in (a)Lauda Jerusalem Ex.9 Vocal ranges in Monteverdi, Magnificat a 7 (1610), (a) as Ex.8Vocalranges,transposed downa 4th (1610),(b) Mass In illo tempore (1610) and (c) Laudatepueri (1650) notatedand (b)transposed
(a) S
WeI I
A
T
i
B
(a] I
S I A-)
A I -0-
T 0I j
B 1
(b)
I ' "
(b)
I
I
I
I
*The (low) written d occurs only once but is sustained.
pueri,shows a similarly telling consistency. Although here the evidence is suggestive ratherthan conclusive, is intended to be performedat Jerusalem surely Lauda the lower pitch.82 Despite the logic of these arguments,the readermay well find that the evidence presented withers into insignificance when weighed againstthe auralmemory of the Vesperswith all sections at theirrelativenotated pitches. He may be tempted to protest that Monteverdi surely intended a new, high tessitura for his final psalm, and that to seek mere consistency in range may be to miss his point. No doubt these low ranges also prompt other questions. What happens to all the at the low brilliance and brightness of Lauda Jerusalem pitch-standardperhapsmuch pitch?Was Monteverdi's higher than our present a'=440? The twin subjects of voice-types and pitch-standardsin early 17th-century Italian music each require at least as much attention as do the conventions of transposition, and this is clearly impractical in the present article; moreover, they should not be allowed to confuse the issue of transposition, which is essentially quite distinct. Consideration of the topic may become easier, however, if the different voices are not thought of in terms of the modern SATBchoir. In particular,Monteverdi'saltos at Mantua are more likely to have been of the usual Renaissance type (i.e. what we call high tenors) than the falsettists or castrati who superseded them, while the contemporarytenor corresponded in range if not in timbreto our baritone.Greateremphasis on naturalness of diction and less on sheer power of singing, combined with a general fondness for low sonorities, encouraged vocal ranges lower than those familiarto us from the music of later eras. Nowhere is familiarity such a barrier to comprehension as in the case of the celebrated Magnificata 7 with which most modern concert performancesof the 1610 Vespers close. Its untransposed and transposed
502 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
voice ranges are given in ex.9. The lower set scarcely seems designed to create the brilliant climax that we may have come to expect of the work, but it does accord closely with the ranges of the two high-clef works by Monteverdifor which we have evidence of transposition: the 1650 Laudatepuenrand the 1610 Mass. If the presence of a low A for tenor causes some surprise, one need look no furtherfor precedent than to the solo tenor writing in Audicoelumfrom the same but such a note is rare in Monteverdi's publication;83 liturgicaloutput.84(Inhis 1614 collection Caccinigoes much further: he includes 'due Arie Particolari per Tenore, che ricerchi le corde del Basso' (two special arias for tenor which explore the bass register), The abandon combiningtenor and (low)bass ranges.85) with which Monteverdi appears to call for (low)Ds in the vocal bass may cause rathermore surprise.But in addition to those arising from transposing the 1650 Laudate pueriand 1610 Mass,there are instances in five polyphonic worksfrom the i 640 collection86 and three from the 1650 collection."8Moresensational still, with dheirlow Cs and 16-note range up to d' are the solo motet Abaeterno88 and the role of Neptune in II ritorno Pluto's two-octave compass (Dcomparable d'Ulisse.89 a Mantuanworkdatingfrom d') in IIballodelleingrate,90 1608, exactly matches the 1610 Vespers bass range with transpositions. Clearlysuch solo writing is of a different kind from that of 'Etmisericordia'and 'Sicut erat', where transposition results in low Ds, but even such low, sober counterpoint is not without its equivalents, as comparisonwith the Gloriaa 7 (1640)91 shows (ex.10). How does transposition of the Magnificata 7 affect the ranges of the publication as a whole? Ex.11 gives the written ranges of all the polyphonic music in the the two Magnificatsand Jerusalem, Vespers.WithLauda the Mass transposed down a 4th, the results are those given in ex.12. The comparison perhaps proves little; in the transposed table the bass range is slightly narrower, the tenor range wider, while alto and
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Ex.10 Monteverdi, (a) Magnificat a 7 (1610),'Etmisericordia',at 'timentibus eum', transposed down a 4th, and (b) Gloriaa 7 (1640),at 'pax hominibus voluntatis', as notated
(a)
A__
(b)
A
_ _
_
_-r
r
r
-r
.
-8
-
. .cu
I F
'
m_
I o-o
Complete vocal ranges in the Vespers and Mass In illo Ex.ll11 tempore (1610) as notated
S A T B
* Here and in ex.12 void notes indicate extremities found only in the [(untransposed) 1610 Mass.
soprano are much the same. In fact, we may well be inclined to favourthe untransposedranges on account of their greaterfamiliarityfrom more recent music. It will therefore be of value to comparethese tables with a contemporary one, that given by Praetorius in Syntagmamusicum,ii (ex.13). (It may be tempting to postulate a higher pitch-standardfor Praetoriusthan
Ex.13 Praetorius, Syntagma musicum, ii, p.20
S A A
V)
Ex.12 Complete vocal ranges as in ex. 11, but with the Mass, Lauda Jerusalem, and Magnificats a 6 and a 7 transposed down a 4th
S
WJ ,OF
A - -- -• W
T W
T
B
B
*_ --
()
A -A)
* See n.92
EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
503
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Ex.14 (a) Magnificat a 7 (1610), 'Quia fecit', transposed down a 4th, and (b) Gloria a 7 (1640), 'Qui sedes', as notated
Bass If
Qui Bass II
a
fe
1td
-
-(cit)
Qui
a
fe
-
(cit)
Bass I
Qui
se
-
des,
qui
se
-(des)
Qui
se
des
for Monteverdi,yet Praetoriusspecifically equates his with that of Italy.)93In both transposed and untransposed forms, two of Monteverdi'svoice ranges exceed those of Praetorius: his sopranogoes lowerand his tenor higher. Withouttransposition,the upperend of both alto and bass is significantly higher; with transposition, soprano and alto go lower and the tenor both higher and lower. This is also inconclusive perhaps, but consistency of range is a matternot only of extremitiesbut also of tessitura. Although more difficult to demonstrate on the page, the gains in consistency of the tessitura resulting from the transpositions are considerable. At the lower pitch the bass duet writingin the Magnificat a 7, for example, reveals its close ties with that of the later Gloriaa 7 (ex.14). The characterof the solo tenor writingis still morerevealing:althoughthe introduction to the doxology of the Magnificat a 7 loses a certain amount of its presumed 'brilliance' by downward transposition, it now has much more in common with Audicoelum,Duo seraphimand, significantly, with the two principaltenor roles in the same composer'sOrfeo. was published in 1609, just one (See ex.15a-d.) Orfeo before the year Vespers.The operahad been performed
Ex.15 (a) Magnificat a 7 (1610), 'Gloria',tenor I
(b) Audi coelum (1610), tenor I
Om
nes
(c) Duo seraphim (1610), tenor I
a
-
ter
(d) Orfeo,Act V (Tutte le opere, xi, p.148) . .
Apollo
can
-
tan
-
-
([dl
coelo)
(e) Orfeo, Act III(p.93)
Orfeo
]a.
ta bel- lez
- za
(f) Audi coelum (1610), tenor I
dGlori sur -
gens
Ut
au
-
ri
a
-
ro
-
-
-
ra
ru
-
ti - lat
504
EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
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first in February1607 and it is very likely that music for the 1610 publication was assembled, if not all composed, over the following three years.94These two works represent the twin peaks of Monteverdi'sMantuan output, and from the moment of the opening respond's reworking of the toccata from Orfeo,the Vespers invites comparison with its secular predecessor. One may reasonably conjecture that Monteverdi had some of the same singers specifically in mind. Was, for example, the original Orfeo, the great also the inspiration Florentinesinger FrancescoRasi,95 The conflated Audi coelum? ex. for ranges of (See 15e-f.) Audi coelum offer a and Duo seraphim (a) Nigrasum, with the role of Orfeo further point of comparison (b) (ex.16).
mental parts in Monteverdi's output is the madrigal 'a sei voci, concertato',97 which has parts A quest'olmo for two violins and two 'flauti o fifara'[sic];the ranges, however, are restricted and work either at pitch or lower and so are of no assistance to us. One answer may be that the players were not in fact required to transpose at sight. Praetoriusexpects many organists to preparefor a performanceby writingout a tablature for themselves from the parts (see above); might violinists also perhaps expect to copy out parts, at whatever pitch was appropriate, from the printed source? The 1610 Vespers partbooks may be regarded as a compact repository of the musical text, from which parts were to be preparedif and as necessary. Although these eight partbooks are so arrangedthat a performancefrom them (with one voice or instrument Ex.16 Tenor ranges in (a) Nigra sum, Duo seraphim and Audi to a part) can just be managed, further copying is coelum (1610) and (b) Orfeo essential if any degree of spatial separationis required. (b) (a) (If, for example, in Ave marisstella the two four-part choirs are to be separated, the instrumental group(s) for the ritornello(a 5)will be divided between them.)So 6 V* it would have been a perfectly naturalprocess for the Such comparisons may well tip the scales back in instrumentalists (or a copyist on their behalf) to write favourof the transposedversion, especially as Praetor- out extra parts where necessary. An alternative procedure, which Monteverdimight ius explains that in Italy a low pitch-standard well have adopted, is to present vocal partsat one pitch and below his own was often used: instrumental partsat another.Alreadyamplyillustrated wienicht Italian demhohen unbillich, etliche singen, Sintemahl in connection with basso continuo parts,this approach es habekeine auchderText art k6nne kein vermeynen gefallen, is in followed Schiitz's Nun lob mein Seel den Herren:98 wol vemommen nichtrecht mankrehete, und werden, schreiye the vocal choirs two are notated in high clefs (in C), wie in der hohe die gleich Grasemagde. singe while the two instrumental choirs are a 4th lower (in G), SomeItalians,not unreasonably, take no pleasurein high a fact that offers the clearest possible demonstration thatthereis no artin it, andalsothatthe singing,believing of in practice. A similar (vocal) text cannotbe properly shout and transposition theory they crow, grasped; sing is followed in the Mass from the Venetian like procedure dairymaids.96 high up just Giovanni Antonio composer Rigatti's Messe e salmi Instruments and transposition (1640):99 while the two violin parts are notated in G2 Before looking for similarities or inconsistencies in clefs at a normallevel (in D), all the voice parts and the the instrumentalwriting of Orfeo and the Vespers, we remaining instrumental parts (continuo and three need to ask whether instrumentalists other 'viola'/tromboneparts)stand a 4th higher (in G)in high obviously than continuo players would ever have been expected clefs (G2 C2 C3 F3), all without signature. These examples may seem to argue against the idea to transpose. After all, keyboard or lute tablature of an a twoincorporates instrumentalists transposing. So perhaps does appropriate transposition, manual Flemish harpsichordgives the player a choice Viadana's etmanducate:00oo Fratres, egoenimaccepi/Accipite of pitch-level, and an organist, reading from staff it is for 'canto solo over cornetto', and the higher pitch, notation, is specially trained in transposition to suit giving a range of d' to a", clearly suits the instrument voices, while a singer is simply unencumbered by the better. Yet as early as the mid-16th century we find concept of a fixed pitch. But why should a violinist Ganassi1o'instructing viol players in the art of transever be requiredto play a 4th lower than the notes in position-for that is one of the functions of his front of him normally suggested? fingering charts-albeit mostly by a tone up or down, The only other high-clef workwith obbligato instru- though in one instance a 4th up. Virgiliano(c1600)102
EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER1984 505
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Table 2 up viol cornett & trombone cornett
flute
normal clefs down 2nd, min. 3rd 2nd, min. 3rd 2nd, min. 3rd
4th, 5th
high clefs up down 4th, 5th, maj. 6th, min. 7th 4th, 5th, maj. 6th, min. 7th 2nd
-
2nd 2nd 2nd, 5th
4th
4th, 5th, maj. 6th, min. 7th
4th, 5th
recorder
2nd
2nd, min. 3rd, 4th
4th, 5th, maj. 6th, min. 7th
gives comparable directions for players of the viol, cornett,recorderand trombone,but with a much wider range of transposition (see table 2 above). (It is worth noting that the 'easy' transposition down a 3rd, once mistakenly associated with high-clef notation,'01occurs only in connection with normal clefs.) Virgilianoalso gives 13 solo ricercaresfor a choice of instrument(recorder,flute, cornett, violin and 'similar' instruments). One, lacking any indication of instrumentation, uses G2 and C3 clefs alternatelyand has a range of g to c",104while all the others are notated in Cl, twice in alternationwith C4, both (6)and (-). Those that specify flute, violin and cornett have the range d to g", which suits only the flute (moreparticularly,the instrumentwhich Praetoriuscalls a tenor/alto flute in D, sounding an octave higher) 105 and is clearly impossible for violin or cornett without transposition upwards.(Transpositionup a 4th aligns these ranges reasonably well with those of the other ricercare.) At first sight, the phrase 'Vasonata alla quartaalta' which appearsagainst three items in SalamoneRossi's
three pieces in high clefs (G2 and C4) lie a 5th above the lutes, while five in normal clefs lie a tone above. The remainingitem, Lachrimae J Dooland,has one part (in G2)a tone above the lutes and another (in F4)at the lutes' pitch. Thus Besard presumably expects transposition down a 5th and a tone to cause no difficulty. The playersmost likely to have been fluent in the art of transposition, especially down a 4th and 5th, are those cornettists, trombonists and others who played regularly with choirs. As maestro di cappella at St Mark's, Venice, Zarlino(1573)must have expected this fluency from his colleagues:
nonsono utilisolamente; ma sommamente ... tali Trasportationi necessarie anco ad ogni peritoOrganista, che servealle Musiche & ad altriSonatori che sonano altresorti di similmente, choriste, il suono di quellialle Voci,le quali istrumenti, per accommodare alle volte non possono ascendere,o discenderetanto, quanto i luoghi propii delli Modi accommodati sopra i detti ricercano istrumenti.
... suchtranspositions [upa 5thordowna 4th]arenotonly useful but highlynecessaryboth to everyskilledorganist to other instrufirst collection of Sinfonie etgagliarde (1607)106 may also involvedwith choralmusic and similarly in orderto mentalists other sorts of instruments, playing the demand to However, transposition. upward appear match their which sometimes sound to cannot voices, go as pieces (two of which are for two 'viole' or two cornetts the as as the of modes or low high positions require proper and basso continuo) are alreadyin high clefs and the when playedon the said instruments.'08 rubric is evidently a warning against (otherwise cusThese ideas are elaborated by Zacconi (1592): tomary) downward transposition of a 4th. Thus, a furtherhigh-clef piece, with a higher range for the top Etavertaogniunochesi comele vocihumane, possanocantaruna un Tuono secondoche li un Tuono & basso cantilena alto, downward be to taken piu piu no and rubric, imply may part tornacommodo &che li paree piace,che cosi ancora gl'Istrumenti transposition. per The ability of instrumentalists to transpose is even possanosonar una cosa horain un Tuono& horanell'altro, cosi alle tutti universalmente sono alti voci. Et che rispeto rispetto more certainly presupposed in Besard'sNovus partus le vociilpiu si vogliano checongl'Istrumenti quando accompagnar 107 Thefirst section consists of 12 items involving (1617). le si sonanoalle seconda, alla terza, dellevolteperaccommodarle, three lutes (two of which can be shown to be in G, the alla quarta & c E pero in questo caso quelli che li vogliano other a 4th lower). Eleven of these, including dances adoprare.: almeno se non ne hanno altra particularcognitione: and simphoniae,also have two or three parts in staff sappianogeneralmente che i Tuoniharmoniali posti & collocati notation (in five instances for voices or instrumentsad dentro si possanosonarun Tuono alle lorcorde naturali: piu basso: &alla quintacomesi si possanofarealla quarta libitum).The apparent pitch of these parts coincides &cheli trasportati questecose. ch'eglida se stesso habbiada considerar fully with that of the lutes in only two instances; all presuppone
506 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
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Andeveryone[should] note that, just as voices can sing a song a tone higher or lower accordingto what proves for them and what seems pleasingto them, comfortable instruments too'cansimilarly playa piece nowin one Tone thatuniversally and now in another, remembering they are all high in relationto voices. Andthus, whenyou wantto in orderto accommovoices withinstruments, accompany datethemyou mostlyplay[atthe distanceof] a tone, 3rdor 4th etc.Andtherefore, in this case,thosewhowishto joinin of it)shouldat (iftheyhaveno further knowledge particular least knowthat you can generally playthe musicalTones given in their naturalpositions one tone lower and the ones a 4th or 5th [lower], as anyonewho has to transposed considerthese matters for himselfwouldimagine.109 While in theory instrumentalists working with voices would be familiar with several intervals of transposition, in practice experience obviously variedfrom player to player:
dareinrichten als wann es in seinemrechten fast weniger k6nnen, Clavebleibt: undauchmanchen Tonus vielbequemer aus solcher derQuintaals aus derQuartzu tractirenvorkdmmr auchoft die es nichtandersleidenwill:so hab ichs in seinem H6hederOrgeln rechten Tono bleibenlassen,damitein jedernachseinemeignen damit procediren undgebaren Gefallenund guten Gelegenheit k6nne.
in the Hypoionian Now,astheseandallothercantiones mode mustnecessarily be transposed downa 4th or 5th-at the 4th the piece always becomesfresher andmorespirited, but it is rather moredifficultfor the organists and instrumentaliststhan at the 5th--I intendedto havethe instrumental choirsand the continuopartprinteda 5th lower.Butas I have discovered that instrumentalists who are not so very canmanage almostless [well] thanwhenit stays experienced in its properkey and also for some such a Tone appears muchmorecomfortable to dealwithfromthe 5ththanfrom the 4th-also the pitchof the organswill often not permit left it in its proper else-I have therefore key, so Dennwenn irgend im unrechten anything ein Cantorso denenOrganisten andactas he pleasesandaccording to Clave folget und dem singen den Anfang machet ehe die thateachcanproceed "' darzukommenund mitanfangen, oderehesie zuvor circumstance. StadtPfeiffer
in denCornettoderPosaunstossenunddenrechten Chormessigen Clavem dem Cantori geben k6nnen sie sonderlichauff den Although some of Praetorius's statement may seem so vorsich zum Chor undrechten CornettenoderGeigen, Clave rather obscure, the opening is crystal clear and weil ihnen die transpositio per confirms the points made in Syntagmamusicum(see gestimmet nichtfort kommen, Secundam und Tertiamnichtwol bekant, es etlichen above). Three of the high-clef pieces in question call Sintemahl sawer undschwehr gnug wird,einenCantumper Quartamoder for instrumentaldoubling of the vocal parts,while the zu Quintam transponiren und machen also wol gar eine remaining four have independent instrumentalparts; Confusion, oderdoch sonsten erbarmliche Arbeit. all are in C major. It is difficult to imagine any
Forif any cantorfollowsthe organist in the wrongkey and initiates thesinging before thewindplayers joinin andbegin, and givethe or beforethey blowtheircornettor trombone cantor the correct choral key,theycannot especially proceed, tunedto the choirandto the on cornettsor violinsalready correctkey, becausethey are not veryfamiliar withtranspositionby a tone or a 3rd;since for some it is painfuland difficultenoughto transposea partby a 4th or a 5th, and they thereforecause quite a confusion, or at least do a miserable job.110 Evidentlythen, experienced players could be expected to transpose by a 4th or 5th when necessary, even if other intervals were generally to be avoided. In
Polyhymnia caduceatrix et panegyrica (1619), Praetorius
again presupposes some facility with transposition on the part of his instrumentalists:
Dieweilauch diese und alle andereCantiones in Modo Hypo-
oder inferiorem jonicoin Quartam Quintam notwendig transponiret werden missen: und in Quarta der Gesang allezeit denOrganisten undInstrumentistenaber fischer undanmutiger, etwas schwerer als in Quinta ank6mmt: so bin ich willens
dieChorosInstrumentales undBassumGeneralem gewesen
in Quintam inferioremgesetzetdrucken zu lassen.Dieweilich aberbefunden, dass nichtsogarsehrgeibteInstrumentistensich
notational problemsresultingfrom a written-outtransposition down a 5th to F major,whereas G major,with its sharp signature, may well have been considered less comfortable. It seems at least possible that a misprint causes the apparent obscurity: if, after the words 'Bassum Generalem', 'in Quartam'replaces 'in Quintam', Praetorius would appear to say that his intended transposition down a 4th created more (notational and technical) problems for the inexperienced player than an unwritten transposition down a 5th and was in any case not low enough for some organs."3 One important final example will serve to show incontrovertibly that in Italy, too, a composer of Monteverdi'stime would expect instrumentaliststo be able to transpose,at least down a 4th, just as Virgiliano's treatise implies (see above). HodiegloriosusPater(a 8) from a volume of motets by Sulpitia Cesis (1619)114is for two choirs: table 3 shows the distribution of the parts. Despite the 'normal' upper and lowest clefs (C1/C2and F4), the piece is to be performed down a 4th; hence the unusually precise instructions. Choir I is for three voices (all female?) and 'violone', while EARLY MUSICNOVEMBER 1984 507
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Table 3
Choir I C1 [voice] Choir II C2 per il cornetto alla quartabassa, ma pero sempre si sona su l'ottava alta C4 altus per il Trombonealla quarta bassa C4 per il trombonealla quartabassa
Ex.17Instrumental a 7 (1610), as notated, rangesin (a)Magnificat
(b) Magnificat a 7 (1610), transposed down a 4th, (c) Sonata sopra 'Sancta Maria'and (d) Orfeo, 'Possente spirto'
violin I (a) violin II bass violin cornett I cornett II
A
C2 [voice] C3 tenor all'ottava alta F3 alla quarta bassa per il violone
(b)
6
(c)
F4 Contrabasso alla quarta per l'Arciviolone the the the the (d)
A
AA
A
A
choir II is purely instrumental. The cornett, and vocal'tenor', effectively transpose up a 5th, one of intervals of transposition given by Virgiliano for cornett (see above), while the two trombones and two stringed instruments play down a 4th.
A
A
A
* Elsewherein Orfeo(intheritornello whichopensAct V)thebassviolinis takendownto D.
Monteverdi's Magnificat a 7: Instruments
Just as we have conjectured that Orfeoand the Vespers (1610) were written with some of the same singers in mind, so we may imagine that perhaps some of the same virtuoso violinists and cornettists took part in each work. Ex.17 gives the ranges of five of the instruments in the Magnificat a 7: (a) at notated pitch, and (b) transposed down a 4th; these may be compared with their equivalents in (c) the Sonata sopra 'Sancta Maria' and in (d) 'Possente spirto' from Orfeo, Act III. The consistency in range demonstrated by this transposition is quite striking; the consistency of tessitura is no less impressive (ex.18). Let us look in a little more detail at some of the technical aspects of these instruments. First, the cornett. Zacconi (1592),115 Praetorius (1618)116 and
Rognoni (1620)117all write of a basic two-octave range of a to a" which can be extended upwards according to individual ability by four and even six notes. (Mersenne (1636-7) gives the instrument's range as c'-d"',118 Bismantova (1677-9)119 describes a"-d'" as 'note sforzzate', and Speer (1697)120 gives a range up to c"'.) Yet the surviving music of Giovanni Gabrieli,121 who had at his disposal possibly the best wind players in Italy, never exceeds b"; and, typically, that note occurs just once in the virtuoso cornett writing of Praetorius's elaborate setting of Wachet auf. 122 In the solo cornett literature of the early 17th century, where one may expect to find innovations and displays of virtuosity, c'" appears infrequently and d'" not at all; Marini (1617) writes only up to b",123 while Picchi (1625),124 Marini (1629)125 and Fontana (1641)126 seem to be the earliest to write c"' (Marini also has a c"' sharp). As ex. 17 shows, the unprecedentedly virtuoso writing of
Ex.18 (a) and (c) Magnificat a 7 (1610), 'Deposuit', transposed down a 4th; (b) and (d) Orfeo, Act III
(b) cornetts
(c) violins
(d) violins
1P N.
508
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the Sonatasopra 'SanctaMaria'and also of Orfeo takes Ex.21 Instrumental ranges in the Magnificat a 7 (1610), (a) as downa 4th the instrument only to a". (An isolated b"' occurs in notated,and (b)transposed Deus in adiutorium recorders trombones which in (a) flutes (Dominead adiuvandum), * V A A A any case is in origin a trumpet part a tone lower.) A Untransposed, the two cornett parts in the Magnificat a 7 are clearly anomalous. (b) In a transposed Magnificat a 7, however, the low range of cornett III may cause some disbelief (ex.19). flute of the early 17th century was the tenor/alto in D with a normal range of two octaves (d'-d'").135 It was treated as an octave transposing instrument, and thus the untransposed writing of the Magnificata 7 would either exceed the normalupper limit by a few notes or, Yet the cornett III part of Giovanni Gabrieli'sequally exceptionally, have to be played at the lower octave. 'brilliant'motet In ecclesiisa 15127 has a similartessitura Transposed,the partslie comfortablyin the upperhalf and range (ex.20). It may well be that in both cases a of the flute. On the other hand, it is true that, after tenor cornett is intended; just as the term 'viola' or transposition, the lower trombone partin this section 'viola da brazzo'in the 1610 publication serves without has a rangewhich mightmakeus expect the designation further designation for two (or probably three)128 'trombone doppio' (as in the Sonata sopra 'Sancta different sizes of instrument, so 'cornett' may refer Maria),ratherthan merely 'trombone'136 (ex.22),but as generically to the family of instruments ratherthan to with the violin and cornett families, a complete and a specific size. The tenor cornett was certainly more consistent nomenclature is not to be expected; after all, the lowest of the three trombone parts in the Ex.20 Range of cornett III in G. Gabrieli, In ecclesiis is marked opening respond ('Dominead adiuvandum') simply 'trombone'.137
(a) (b)
Ex.19 Range of cornett III in the Magnificat a 7 (1610), (a)as notated, and (b) transposed down a 4th
common than modern performances of late 16th- and early 17th-century music might suggest,129 but low playing on the treble cornett is also a possibility, especially as the doubling of vocal parts in Cl and C2 clefs had long been one of the instrument's main functions. Virgilianoseems to give a fingering forg,130 Praetoriusrecognizes both g and f as possibilities,131 and Marini(1629) writesg once and a several times in the fourth partof his 'Canzoneprimaper quatroViolini 6 Cornetti'.l32 These two notes occur only in Monteverdi'sfinal 'Amen',wherethe instrumentis doubling a vocal line (the g twice and the f once) and in any case the player could, as Cesis specifies (see above) and as Praetorius may imply,133play in the higher octave without difficulty; such octave doubling is, after all, not uncommon in polychoral music of the time.134 The pairs of wind instruments that make brief appearances in 'Quiarespexit' may seem to contribute little to the argument, as flutes (if indeed the terms 'fifara'and 'pifara'here indicate flutes), trombones and recorders of appropriatesizes can be chosen to serve the music well at either pitch (ex.21). But the ordinary
Ex.22 Rangeof trombone in the Magnificata 7 (1610, (a)as notated, and (b)transposed down a 4th, and in (c) Sonatasopra'SanctaMaria'
(a) (b) (c)
Next, the strings. In first position, the violin's highest note is b",but an extension makes c"' possible without shifting.13s The violin writingin Orfeo has b"as its top note, while c"' comes just once in the Sonata and is used sparinglyby Montesopra'Sancta Maria'139 verdi elsewhere in his output.140 The note d"' is even rarer141 and no higher writtennote occurs anywherein his surviving work outside the Magnificat a 7. By contrast, in the untransposed Magnificat a 7 c'" appears regularly, violin I has d'" in four of its five obbligato sections (see ex.1b),violin II has the note in two sections, and both have one e"' flat. I have already noted an instrumental work of 1607 by the Mantuan composer Rossi requiringdownwardtransposition;its violin part goes to written d"', a note which appears nowhere else in the publication. Even a decade later in his op. 1 (1617), Biagio Marini,142 then a violinist under
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Monteverdi at St Mark's, Venice, does not write beyond first position; b" is his normaltop note and c"' occurs in just one item. But by the time of the same composer's op.8 (1629), c'" has become the most frequent upper extreme,while two pieces go to d"'and one as far as e"'.143 Comparable ranges arecalled for by another composer with Mantuan connections, Giovanni BattistaBuonamente (1626)144and by Tarquinio Merula(c1631-3),145 and it may be significant that all three composers had by then spent several years working north of the Alps. Despite some apparent anomalies in GiovanniGabrieli'sposthumous Canzoni e sonate (1615),146 it would seem from a provisional survey of early 17th-century Italian string music that composers probably did not begin to write for the violin beyond first position until sometime in the 1620s. Even then it was very much the norm not to demand shifting; Castello'smusic (1621 and 1629),for example, never exceeds c"'147and even Merula(1637) stays within this limit.'48Against this background, it seems strange that Monteverdi (and his Mantuan players) might have been responsible for initiating these revolutionary experiments in violin technique, only to abandon them almost wholly to younger colleagues. Only one other stringed instrument is called for in the Magnificata 7: a bass 'Viuolada Brazzo'.Herethere are perhaps fewer easy points of comparison because of the general confusion surroundingthe terminology and nature of bass stringed instruments at this time. But downwardtransposition has two clear effects on the part.First,it brings all the music into first position, in line with all Monteverdi's other writing for the instrument(notably in the Sonatasopra'Sancta Maria); second, it gives the instrument a single, idiomatic C (almostcertainlyits lowest open string and in any case a note that occurs in the Sonata)at a place where the organ has c (ex.23).149 To transpose Monteverdi's Magnificat a 7 down a 4th is thus to remove several apparentanomalies (and probableanachronisms)from the instrumentalwriting without creating any new ones (unless the lowness of
cornett III be such). This in itself is surely suggestive, as the similartranspositionof any comparablycomplex instrumental music (for example, the Sonata sopra 'SanctaMaria) would almost inevitably produce insoluble problems. High-clef notation It would be unreasonableto conclude withouttouching briefly on the question of why Monteverdiused high clefs in the first place. With Schonsleder (1631),150 we find well still ourselves 'amazed to see the may majority of musicians customarily writing many of their songs in them, although they know that if anyone wishes to sing them they will have to be transposed downwards'. The subject is a vast and intricateone and as yet there has been no definitive study. Matters of compositional technique, notational practice, modal theory and pitch-standard are all involved, and the four high-clef pieces in Monteverdi's 1610 Mass and Vespers perhaps reflect some of this diversity. The 1610 Mass is a rigorous re-workingof ten fughe from Gombert'smotet In illo tempore. Parodyworks of this type almost always retain the notated pitch-level, and therefore clefs, of their models; Monteverdi'sis no exception and we therefore need look no furtherfor an explanation of his choice of high clefs in that work. In the conservative LaudaJerusalemthe chant is presented in the tenor, first untransposed and later a 4th higher; these are its two traditional written levels (the only ones that remain strictly within the gamut) and it may well be that Monteverdichose the written pitch of his setting accordingly. In both the Mass and psalm, to have written at the intended sounding pitch (a 4th lower) would not only have altered the given material but, more important,would also have introduced an undesirable signature of one sharp. The apparent incongruity of dazzling, up-to-date instrumentalwritingin imminently obsolescent highclef notation may seem a central problem with the Magnificat a 7. Yet, particularly if we are correct in thinking that Monteverdi intentionally reproduced Gombert'swritten pitch in his Mass, an explanation
Ex.23 Magnificat a 7 (1610), 'Fecit potentiam', transposed down a 4th, (a) viuola da brazzo, and (b) bassus generalis
(a)510 EARLYMUSIC NOVEMBER1984
510
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may be that here, too, he wished to preservethe written pitch of his model. Analysis of the two Magnificats . .. ... 'strongly suggests that the smaller six-voice setting ..... served as the basis for the larger one with instruments','51 and thus it would have been natural for Monteverdito compose his more elaborateworkat the .. pitch of the earlier one. ...l One puzzle remains. Why is the Magnificat a 6 in high clefs? Here the chant (Psalm Tone 1) is mostly a used transposed up a 4th, often in alternationwith an & (mp, &in rfcula JecuNorumAii Alcattit Akia ej traditional alterversion. the However, untransposed native level of the chant is not up but down a 4th. Has Monteverdichosen to transpose the chant up only for performersto perform it down? There are no obvious notational difficulties with the lower (performing) the Jerusalem; pitch as there are in the Mass and Lauda 1 1 W,-q $NO flat signaturewould simply disappearand the remotest !"!PO accidental would sharpen G rather than C. Eitherthe .7-7 choice of high clefs was almost arbitrary-it was a perfectly common form of notation presenting no problems to singers or organist-or it was dictated by reasons of modal theory still obscure to us. (Interestingly enough, it seems that 'as the 16th century wore on interest in and evidence for modality of any kind in Vespersof 1610 in the original the polyphonic repertory increased rather than 5 The openingof Monteverdi's partbook print.Cantus lessened'.)152 Considerations of this nature may seem to conflict Hugh Keyte for instigating the performance and for his encouragewith the modernity and freedom of Monteverdi's ment and advice at all stages. I am also grateful to many other especially Clifford Bartlett,Bruce Dickey and Graham concertatomusic, but more probably they were in- colleagues, Dixon, for their assistance. grained in the thinking of a composer in his early 40s 2JohnEliot Gardiner, programmenotes for performancesin 1984 had pronounced him a pupil of the Vespers.In an interviewfor BBCRadio3 (July 1984),Gardiner whose first publication153 forward his objections to the transpositions. First, 'such an of Marc'AntonioIngegneri. In any case he was un- put academic formula seems to me foreign to his [Monteverdi's] nature'. doubtedly sensitive to the criticisms by Giovanni Second, 'it would involve using a lower cornetto'.Third,'I just think MariaArtusiof his contrapuntalprocedures154 and an it sounds dull and wrong'. 3on EX 2701293 express purpose of the 1610publicationwas, according 4Theterms seem to derive from Giuseppe Paolucci, Arte praticadi to his preface, that 'claudantur ora in Claudium contrappunto (Venice, 1765-72); see S. Hermelink, 'Chiavette', The loquentium iniqua' (the mouths of those speaking New Grove. SClaudioMonteverdi, Sanctissimaevirginimissa senis vocibusad unjustly against Claudio may be closed). chorosac vespere cumnonnullis sacris ecclesiarum decantandae, pluribus It is perhapsironic that one of the moreconservative concentibus, ad sacella sive principum cubiculaaccommodata (Venice, the other seven partbooks omit'ad features of such an innovatory publication should 1610)(title from Bassusgeneralis; have caused Monteverdito be so badly misrepresented ecclesiarum choros'). 6A. J. Ellis and A. Mendel, Studiesin the Historyof MusicalPitch later on. (Amsterdam, 1968);Mendel'scontributionconsists largelyof reprints of his invaluable 'Pitch in the 16th and Early 17th Centuries',MQ, Andrew isfounder anddirector Choir, xxxiv Parrott of theTaverner (1948),pp.28-45, 199-221, 336-57, 575-93. His later'Pitch in Consort and Players,with whom he records for EMI,and Western Music since 1500: a Re-examination',Actamusicologica, 1, also a freelanceconductorFormerly director of music at 1/2 (1978), pp.1-93, covers much of the same ground but often in less detail; all references to Mendel are therefore to his earlierwork MertonCollege,Oxfordhe currently holds a Leverhulme and give the pagination of the 1968 reprint. artisticdirector Fellowshipand in 1985 will become of the 7GioseffoZarlino,Dimostrationi harmoniche (Venice, 1571/R 1966), pp.309 and 311 new European based in Oxford BaroqueOrchestra
. ..z.. --.VWII It-w
'A BBCPromenadeConcert (July 1977). The performerswere the TavernerChoir and Players with various soloists. I am indebted to
sMichael Praetorius,Syntagmamusicum,ii (Wolfenbiittel, 1618, 2/1619/R 1958), p.31, describes this procedure for enabling a tenor trombonist to read correctly for bass trombone. EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 511
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9PietroCerone, El melopeoy maestro(Naples, 1613/R 1969), p.494 . i PXTVS & InAnitmentit S' S: o 16. 'oGirolamoDiruta, Secondaparte del transilvano (Venice, 1609/R 1978), bk 3, p.1 lIbid, p.4 treats the eight Magnificat Tones similarly in a later 12Diruta ---chapter:op cit, bk 4, pp.7-16. ... -~-"Juan Bermudo, El libro llamado declaraci6nde instrumentos musicales (Osuna, 1555/R 1957), bk 4, ch.26, ff.73v-74, gives instructionsfor playingthe modes up a 2nd, 4th and 5th, and down a 2nd and a minor 3rd. Later, Thomas Morley writes that certain transpositions were often required for ease of the singers (APlaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musiche(London, 1597, p.156). Jean Denis, Traitide laccordde l'espinette & if)-r ryu )I):....1 (Paris,2/1650), p.19; facs. 1, & d"Ct ? ed. A. Curtis(New York,1969), tells how his teacher, the organist of ? the Ste Chappelle in Paris, Florent le Bienvenu (1568-1623), would ? play the Magnificat chant in one key 'pour la commodite des , l: ... Chantres'but his solo verses in another, avoiding 'bad' keys. della musica Galilei, antica et della "4Vincenzo Dialogo moderna (Florence, 1581/R 1968), p.87 Paulo Cima,Partito de ricercari &canzoniallafrancese(Milan, "SGian t1 xx (Rome, 1969), p.62 1606), p.73; ed. C. G. Rayner,CEKM, f~; 16A. and G. Gabrieli,Intonationidorgano.. libroprimo(Venice, 1593) 17Zarlino, Le istitutioniharmoniche (Venice, 1558/R 1965, rev. 3 /1573/R 1966), p.391 S8Galilei, inMusic op cit,p.87; see 0. Strunk,Source Readings History (New York, 1950), p.314. 19RoccoRodio, Regole di musica (Naples, 1609), pp.86-8 (this edition also bears the date 1611 on its final page). The section in question, headed 'Come permusicafinta si ponnofaregl'istessituoniin altriluoghi',is an addition to the original publication of 1600. See Mendel, op cit, pp.153-4, who takes Rodio as providing evidence against the principle of the downward transposition of high-clef 6 Vespers of 1610: Sextus partbook music; in fact, the subject is not mentioned. ed. Ripin, Barnes,'TheSpecious Uniformityof ItalianHarpsichords', 20Cerone, op cit, pp.922 and 925 op cit, pp.1-10 21Agostino Agazzari,Del sonaresopral basso (Siena, 1607/R 1969), 36W.R. Thomas and J. J. K. Rhodes, 'The StringScales of Italian p. 10; see Strunk,op cit, pp.429-30. Instruments', GSJ, xx (1967), pp.48-62, and J. H. van der Meer, 22Praetorius, Syntagmamusicum,iii (Wolfenbiittel, 1619/R 1958), 'HarpsichordMaking and Metallurgy:a Rejoinder',GSJ,xxi (1968), pp.80-81; cited in Mendel, op cit, pp.140-41 pp.175-8 23Ibid, p. 136 Banchieri, Conclusioni nel suono dellorgano(Bologna, 37Adriano 240nlyMorleyin Englandadvises against such transpositions;he 1608/R 1934), pp.94-5. Cf. the interrelationship of the differentthus at least implies the existence of such a practice. sized instruments built by the Ruckers family; see G. G. O'Brien, 25VolupiusDecorus [pseud. of Wolfgang Schonsleder],Architect- 'loannes and Andreas Ruckers',EM, vii (1979), pp.453-66. onicemusicesuniversalis (Ingolstadt, 1631), pp.66ff; cited in Mendel, 38Praetorius, Syntagmamusicum,ii, p.62 op cit, p.230, in an addition to his original article Theatrum instrumentorum 39Praetorius, (Wolfenbfittel,1620/R1958), 26Lorenzo Penna, Liprimialborimusicali(Bologna, 1672, 5/1696), pl.VI pp.188-96 40T.Beckerleg, 'The Fitzwilliam Museum Harpsichord',Italian 27Bartolomeo musicale Bismantova,Compendio treatise, Musicat the Fitzwilliam(Cambridge,1976), pp.24f (manuscript 1677-9: Biblioteca Municipale di Reggio Emilia/facs. edn Ferrara, 41SeeG. Kinsky,Musikhistorisches Museumvon WilhelmHeyerin Florence, 1978), pp.[84-6] (DelsuonareSpostato) Coln:Katalog,i (Cologne, 1910), no.310. ad manuductionem 28Johann BaptistSamber,Continuatio organicam 42The harpsichord by Hans Mfiller (Leipzig, 1537), now in the (Salzburg,1707), p.143; cited in Mendel, op cit, p.140 Museo degli StrumentiMusicali in Rome,has a keyboardthat could 29Paolucci, op cit, i, pp.184-5 and 231; iii, pp.173-4 and 215; cited be shifted by a tone. See L. Cervelli and J. H. van der Meer, in Mendel, op cit, p.130 Conservato a Romail piu anticoclavicembalo (Rome, 1967). van Blankenburg,Elementa musica(TheHague, 1739/R 3oQuirinus 43Praetorius, Syntagmamusicum,ii, pp.63-6. Giovanni Valentini 1973), p.142; cited in Mendel, op cit, p.179 New Grove) (see The is known to have performedon this instrumentin 3"SeeMendel, op cit, pp.170-86. 1617. 32The RussellCollection and Other Instruments 44Giovanni BattistaDoni, Compendio in Saint EarlyKeyboard del trattato e de'modi de'generi CeciliasHall,Edinburgh della musica(Rome, 1635), p.70 (Edinburgh,1968), pp.12-15 33J.H. van der Meer, 'More about Flemish Two-manualHarpsilibersecundus Pierluigida Palestrina,Missarum 45Giovanni (Rome, chords', Keyboard Instruments: Studiesin Keyboard 1500- 1567);Le operecomplete,iv, pp.1-25 Organology 1800, ed. E. M. Ripin(Edinburgh,197 46Claude Le Jeune, Dodicacorde 1/R New York,1977),pp.50-52 (La Rochelle, 1598) 34See R. T. Shann, 'Flemish transposing harpsichords: an ex47StefanoLandi, II Sant'Alessio (Rome, 1634/R 1970) planation', GSJ,xxxvii (1984), pp.62-71. 48Wroclaw,olim Stadtbibliothek, Ms.mus.CI.1238 (presumably 35J.D. Shortridge,ItalianHarpsichord Buildingin the 16th and 17th destroyed in World War II) and Jacobus Gallus [Handl],Missarum Centuries (Washington, DC, 1960), J. Barnes, 'Pitch Variations in VvocumliberIII (Prague, 1580), no.9; ed. in DTO,cxix, pp.30ff and Italian KeyboardInstruments', GSJ,xviii (1965), pp.110-16, and J. 103ff
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Einerneuenhunstlichen Tabulatur 49Bernhart Schmid, ZweyBticher. auff Orgelund Instrument (Strasbourg, 1577). Contents listed, with details of transposition, in W. Merian, Der Tanz in den deutschen (Leipzig, 1927).All the works are by Lassus, except Tabulaturbtichern for Crecquillon's chanson Si me tenes (RISM,154514), f.14, and the motet Hierusalem luge (RISM15329),p.49, by Richafort or Lupus. Tabulaturbuch Orgel 50JacobPaix, Ein sch6n nutz unndgebreuichlich (Lauingen,1583).The index, listing transpositiondegrees,is reprinted in Merian, op cit, p.116. The 24 motets are mostly by Lassus and Palestrina,with one each by Josquin, Senfl and Clemens non Papa. In addition, there are three whose original I have been unable to trace: two by Paix himself (Jubilate Domino and Domine quid multiplicati sunt) and an AveMariaby one 'Riccius'(perhapsTeodore Riccio).Although the transposition degree of these three is known, the original clefs are not, so they are omitted from the statistics. (One is untransposed, one down a 4th and one down a 5th.) musicum(Antwerp,1584/RBuren, 51Emanuel Adriaenssen,Pratum 1977);partly ed. in Monumenta musicae belgicae, (Antwerp,1966). Contents listed in H. M. Brown,Instrumental MusicPrinted Before 1600.: a Bibliography (Cambridge,Mass., 1965), pp.334-7 (15846). The 27 items discussed below are nos.6-32 in Brown.Adriaenssen prints a lute intabulation and the top and bottom parts of 27 madrigalsand chansons. Those which I have checked (nos.6-8, 10-11, 14, 16, 212, 24-5, 27-31) retain their original clefs, so it seems likely that the others do. There are 15 with clefs Cl and F4 (i.e. normal clefs); of these, 14 have the lute part at the same pitch (assuming a lute in G tuning) and one has the lute a tone higher. (It could be argued that this is to avoid the difficulty of playing a piece in F on an instrument with a bottom string G; but elsewhere Adriaenssen uses a seventh course.) Thereare ten with high clefs (eight have G2 and F3 and two have G2 and C4):all are transposed downwards.Two (both with flat signatures)are transposed down a tone; both are in Gminor,so there would have been difficulties in keeping the bass notes on the instrument, had they been put down a 4th into D minor. Two (both withoutflat signatures)aretransposed down a 5th. Six aretransposed down a 4th (threewith a flat and three without). In addition, there is one with Cl and C4 clefs, which goes down a 4th, and one (Lassus's popularSusannun jour),using G2 and C4 clefs, which goes down a tone. The rest of the publication clearly shows that high-clef pieces are lowered,though it offers no examples of transposition down a 5th. A group of three-voice works mostly in Cl, C2 or C3, and C4 clefs is transposed down a tone, though two examples with a G2 clef go down a 4th; the two famous pieces by Hubert Waelrant for four voices and four lutes, in normal clefs, are untransposed if we assume lutes in G, F, D and C, or tipa tone if the lutes are in A, G, F and D. The two settings for two lutes a tone apart (nos.33 and 34) requireinstruments in A and G to give the expected transposition of a 4th down for the first and to preserve the original pitch for the second. Whatever the absolute pitch relationship between lute tuning and the pitch implied by the vocal notation, the intention to bring high-clef works to the level of normal-clef ones is clear. 52(Rome,1586, rev. 2/1592/R Bologna, 1971). There was also an edition of 1586 without the keyboard and lute versions. Nanino's and four other items from the collection are Jesu spes penitentibus transcribed in H. Haack, Anfdngedes Generalbass-satzes (Tutzing, 1974), Notenteil, pp.82-6. 1595/R Bologna, 1971);contents listed in Brown,op cit, 53(Rome, p.406 (15951o). Accordingto Mendel, op cit, p.149, Verovio'sGhirlanda di fiorettimusicali(Rome, 1589) may contain similar examples. 5411 primolibrode madrigali(Venice, 1600) 55(Venice,1602; Lib.II, 1607, Lib.III,1609). LaterGermanreprints combine all three volumes: A. Davidsson, Cataloguecritiqueet de musique(Uppsala, 1952), no.517, lists the des imprimds descriptif complete contents from the Frankfurtedition of 1626. The solo motets from the 1602 edition ed. C. Gallico (Mantua and Kassel, 1964). (The transcriptions in Haack, op cit, are not accompanied by
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informationon clefs and organtransposition adequate enough to be helpful.) 56(Rome,1613), no.42, Tantotempore,for two altos (C2(b))and no. 157, Quisequiturme, fortwo tenors (C3(b)) (Innsbruck, 1614), Magnificat magnaematrisdivinocarmine 57Super a 8 (based on a motet by Giovanni exultans' no.3; Magnificat'Laudans SelectedMagnificats, Croce); ed. H. Junkermann in J Stadlmayr: Recent Researches in the Music of the BaroqueEra,xxxv (Madison, Wisc., 1980), pp.74-105. The clefs of the voice parts are G2 C2 C3 F3(b)for each of the two choirs. Werhe PsalmenDavids (Dresden, 1619), no. 13;Saimtliche 58Schiitz, (Leipzig, 1885-94, 1909, 1927/R 1968-73), ii, p.180 ... continentimusica di 59Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, Concerti & altro(Venice, 1587) chiesa,madrigali, 60(Dresden,1636);SdmtlicheWerke,xii 61It is not clear whether the inexperienced organist finds the notation difficult with a sharp signature, or whether Schiitz is thinking of his difficulties with the 'bad' notes of a mean-tuned instrument. Dirutatouches on the subject briefly (opcit, bk 4, p.16) musicum,iii, p.81). and Praetoriusmore fully (Syntagma 62(Dresden,1657); SdmtlicheWerke,xii; no.7, Meine Seele erhebt is for four voices in the clefs G2 C2 C3 C4(-), with the den Herren, basso in continuo in F4(#). is the only work in the set notated with a G2 clef in the top 63This part;it is this clef which is the clearest indication, not that of the lowest voice, which is F4 in seven of the other motets, F3 in three and C4 in one. Anotherwork of Schiitz's to use this transpositional Chorconvention is Also hat Gottdie Weltgeliebt(no. 12 of Geistliche Music(Dresden, 1648);Sdmtliche viii), which has voices in G2 Werke, C2 C3 C3 F3 clefs(-), while the basso continuo has an F4 clef (#)and is transposed down a 4th. Five different intervals of transposition are evidently called for in Constantijn Huygens's anthology of solo songs, Pathodiasacra et profana(Paris, 1647);ed. F. Noske (Amsterdam, 1976).Before each item the singer's initial note is given in lute EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 513
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tablature,despite the fact that the accompaniment is simply a bass line in staff notation. Assuming a G tuning, 21 of the 39 songs are untransposed and a further 11 are down a tone. Most of the basses use F4; the remainder are as follows: F3 (-) down a 2nd F3 (b)down a 4th F3 (-) down a 5th C4 (-) down a 5th (x3) C4 (-) down a major 6th 64Seen.55. 1611): cited in Mendel op cit, p.149 65(Strasbourg, 66Attemptsto solve this problem by making instruments with separate keys for D sharp and E flat (and also G sharp and A flat) evidently date from the 15th century in Italy but seem to have been rarerin Germany(see Praetorius:Syntagmamusicum,iii, p.81). The 1480 contractfor an organat Lucca cathedralspecifies this solution Evidence for Meantone Temper(see M. Lindley,'Fifteenth-Century cii (1975-6), p.37), and more than a century later ament', PRMA, Diruta(opcit, bk. 4, p.16)records that 'In alcuni Organivi sono li tasti scavezzi' (In some organs there are split keys). See also Wolfgang oderSatyrischer Componist CasparPrintz,Phrynis (Quedlinburg,1676), ch. 11, ? 12ff;cited in Mendel, opcit, p.230. Italianharpsichordswith keyboardsof this type were quite common. As early as 1548 Zarlino istitutioni harmoniche, (Le p.164) had commissioned one with 19 notes to the octave. seu SacraeCantiones 'TheAntiphonae, (1613) of 67SeeJ. Armstrong, Giovanni Francesco Anerio: A Liturgical Study', Analectamusicologica,xiv (1974), pp.89-150. xvii. The original clefs are 1619);Gesamtausgabe, 68(Wolfenbiittel, listed on pp.xxxi-xxxiii. 69Quotedin full below. 7oSeeabove. "(Leipzig, 1636);SdmtlicheWerke,vi, nos.7, 8 and 18 xvi (simple,four-voice settings Werke, 72(Dresden, 1661);Sdmtliche of CorneliusBecker'sversification of the psalms, not the polychoral settings of the 1619 PsalmenDavids) 73Mendel'sanalysis of the revisions (op cit, pp.144-7) is unfortunatelybased on the misleading edition by P. Spitta(H. Schfitz, SdmtlicheWerke, xvi). See S. Hermelink,'Bemerkungenzur Schiitzim Wandel des historischen Edition Bewusstseins, Edition',Musikalische ed. T. G. Georgiades (Kassel, 1971), pp.207-9 and 214-5. 74SeeU. Prinz,'Anmerkungenzur Neuausgabe des "Beckerschen Psalters"von Heinrich Schiitz',Musikforschung, xxv (1972), pp. 17581. 75See Praetorius'scomments in Syntagmamusicum,ii, pp.16-17. musicum,iii, p.82. See also Praetorius'sarguments in 76Syntagma favour of a choir pitch a tone lower than the prevailingCammerthon musicum, ii, pp.15-16; cited in Mendel, op cit, pp.109-11). (Syntagma "The tenor part uses F3 just in 'Sicut locutus est'. a quattrovoci et salmi (Venice, 1650); Tuttele opere,xvi, 78Messa pp.211-26 "Viewing the Magnificat a 6 in isolation from the other Vesper music, however, a 'skilled organist' might perhaps be tempted to consider the alternativeintervalof a minor3rd, as the alto partdoes not lie at all high, and the three lowest voices descend rather low. ii (Bologna, 1775), 8sGiovanni Battista Martini, Esemplare ... pp.242-50 Mass and Vespers 8'See J. G. Kurtzman, of Essays on theMonteverdi 1610 (Houston, 1978), pp.9 and 38. These late transpositions are unlikely to have been affected directly by changes in pitch standard in the century and a half after 1610, when pitch seems ratherto have moved downwards (by perhaps as much as a tone); it might be argued, though, that such a change would have ruled out transposition down a 5th. Jerusalem by a minor3rd 82The possible temptation to lowerLauda rather than a 4th can easily be resisted because of the prominent majortriadson F sharpthat this would create for the continuo, quite 514 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
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8 Vespers of 1610: Tenor partbook apart from the probability of an uncomfortable transition from a closing F sharp major chord to the ensuing antiphon or antiphon substitute. (In the publication the psalm is followed by the Sonata sopra'SanctaMaria',which opens in G major.) 830n the words 'aurora'and 'coelos', bars 14 and 22 84Thenote occurs once in Selva moralee spirituale(Venice, 1640 le opere,xv, p.472, bar 127)and once ii (Tutte [1641]),in Laudatepueri in Messa a quattrovoci et salmi (1650), in Dixit [i] (Tutte le opere,xvi, p.73, bar 116); both occurrences are brief. When transposed, the 1610 Mass has two Gs (Gloria,bar 42, and Credo,bar 34) and one A le opere,xvi, pp.73, bars 86 and 121); (Agnus Dei a 7, bar 49) (Tutte these are also brief. 85Giulio Caccini, Nuove musiche e nuova maniera di scriverle (Florence, 1614);ed. H. W. Hitchcock in Recent Researches in the Music of the Baroque Era,xxviii (Madison, Wisc., 1978), pp.64-77 a 7, Dixit ii, Beatus ii, Laudate 86Gloria pueriii and Magnificat i 87Bothsettings of Dixit, and Beatus vir morale(1640); Tuttele opere,xv, pp.189-94. Cf. the bass 88Selva (Leipzig, 1636). parts in Schiitz, KleinegeistlicheConcerte le opere,xii 89Tutte et amorosi(Venice, 1638); Tuttele opere,viii, 90Madrigali guerrieri pp.314-47 morale(1640); Tuttele opere,xv, pp.117-77 91Selva 92For the bass Praetoriusalso gives an F which evidently some singers tried to reach, though without real success. He goes on to name three basses reputed to have been able to sing E' flat (ibid, p.17). p.15. The question of absolute pitch-standardsin the early 93Ibid, 17th century is, of course, an extremelycomplex one. W. R. Thomas and J. J. K. Rhodes ('Schlick, Praetoriusand the History of Organii (1971),pp.58-76) have used the evidence of Yearbook, Pitch',Organ Praetorius's woodcut of pipe dimensions (Syntagmamusicum,ii, p.232) to propose a'= about 428 as his reference pitch. Recently, H. W. Myers('Praetorius's Pitch',EM,xii (1984),pp.369-71) has pointed
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out that the large majorityof Praetorius'sscale illustrations of wind instruments correspond closely to surviving examples of about a'=460; this may be the standard of most Nurembergtrombones, which Praetorius considered the most reliable guides to his own musicum,ii, p.232). This is quite likely to have been pitch (Syntagma roughly the same as Venetian pitch, but we cannot assume that it was therefore in use in Mantua too; Giovanni Battista Doni (Annotazioni soprail compendio (Rome, 1640), pp.181-2; Mendel, op cit, p.236) differentiates (by suspiciously neat semitones) between the prevailingpitch standardsof Naples, Rome,Florence, Lombardy and Venice, from low to high respectively (see also above and n.44). 94See I. Fenlon, 'The Monteverdi Vespers: Suggested Answers to Some Fundamental Questions', EM, v (1977), pp.380-87. Fenlon conjectures that a first performance took place in Mantua at S Andreaon 25 May 1608, but Kurtzman's objection (opcit,p.42) that such an occasion would not account for the dedication of the Vespers to the Virgin is a strong one. Rasi as Orfeo,see T.Carter and D. Butchart,correspondence, 95For MT,cxviii (1977), p.393. Marcoda Gagliano mentions in the preface to La Dafne (Florence, 1608; ed. J. Erber(London, 1978)) that Rasi participatedin the original performance in mid-February1608; for the date, see S. Reiner,'La vag'Angioletta', Analecta xiv musicologica, (1974), pp.53-6. Gagliano's solo writing is much more restrained than that of Monteverdi,so a morerestrictedrange is to be expected. musicum,ii, p.16. The translation of 'Grasemigde' is 96Syntagma somewhat conjectural, cf. Mendel (op cit, p.112, n.45). settimolibrode madrigali le opere, vii, (Venice, 1619);Tutte 97Concerto. pp.14-34. The violin parts go up to c"' (which, at pitch, would have been manageable in first position, with extension) and down to e'. Davids(Dresden, 1619),no.20; Sdmtliche iii, p. 101 98Psalmen Werke, 99(Venice,1640): information from Jerome Roche above. The original notation is with G2 clef (b);the organ o1oSee partis a 4th lower but is also cued at the same pitch as the upperpart if it is to be played with a cornett. 'O'Sylvestrodi Ganassi dal Fontego, Regola Rubertina(Venice, 1542) 102Aurelio Virgiliano, II dolcimelo (manuscript treatise, c1600: Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale/facs. edn Florence, 1979), pp.[98-9, 102-3, 105, 109, 111]. See also below. Mendel, op cit, pp.129-32 0o3See cit, p.[70]. This is an incomplete diminution on Palestrina's 1040p Vestivii colli; editions in R. Erig, ItalienischeDiminutionen (Zurich, 1979), pp.347-76 and Virgiliano, 13 Ricercate (London, 1980), p.72. The key and high clef derive from the original madrigal. musicum,ii, p.22 'OsSyntagma 106Salamone Rossi, II primolibrodellesinfonieet gagliarde (Venice, 1607). Rossi, it should be remembered, was one of Monteverdi's colleagues at Mantua,though it is unlikely that, as a Jew, he would have been involved in any church music-making. musicae Besard, Novus partus.sive Concertationes 107Jean-Baptiste (Augsburg,1617). See J. Sutton, 'The Music of J. B. Besard'sNovus partus, 1617', JAMS,xix (1966), pp. 182-204. Le istitutioniharmoniche, 108Zarlino, p.390 '09LodovicoZacconi, Pratticadi musica (Venice, 1592/R 1967), f.218v Syntagmamusicum,ii, p.):(9 O?Praetorius, 111(Wolfenbittel, 1619), no.15, introductory para. 6; Gesamtausgabe,xvii, p.110 12Compare Schuitz'sobservations above. "'3There is reason to believe that early 17th-centuryorganpitch in Germanytended to approximateto the highest levels known in Italy; thus, transposition down a 5th might have been more useful and therefore more common there. See n.93. spirituali (Modena, 1619).Cesis was a nun at the convent 114Motetti of S Agostino in Modena.
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1620/R 1978), pt 2, p.[2] universelle "1MarinMersenne, Harmonie (Paris, 1636-7/R 1963), iii, p.273. Later(p.275), Mersenne mentions that Quiclet and others can reach two notes higher. "gBismantova,op cit, pp.[108-9] 120DanielSpeer, Grund-richtiger der musicalischen ... . Unterricht musicalischesKleeblatt(Ulm, 1697/R 1974), Kunst, oder Vierfaches p.232 12'See the parts with designations in Sacraesymphoniae (Venice, 1597) and Canzoniet sonate (Venice, 1615). et panegyrica 12Praetorius,Polyhymniacaduceatrix (Wolfenbiittel, 1619), no.21 123Biagio Marini,Affettimusicali(Venice, 1617) Picchi, Canzonida sonar (Venice, 1625) 124Giovanni Sonate.symphonie... e retornelli 12sMarini, (Venice, 1629) 126Giovanni Battista Fontana, Sonate (Venice, 1641). This is a posthumous publication; the composer died c1630. sacrae (Venice, 1615), no.26 Gabrieli,Symphoniae 127G. its exceptional use for violin II at the start of the 128(Excluding Magnificata 7.) I leave aside here the question of a'tenor' or 'small bass' violin (tuned an octave or a 9th below the treble violin), which I believe was common at this period in Italy and which must be the intended alternativeto trombone II in the Sonatasopra'Sancta Maria'. '29An inventory of the StuttgartHoflapellein 1589 lists '4 grosse gerade Zinken,3 Tonos niederer, seindt in der Kappelzu dem Alt zu gebrauchen' (4 big straight cornetts, 3 notes lower [than the previously mentioned 6 mute cornetts at choir pitch], to be used in the Kapelle for the alto part), (see G. Bossert, Wtirttembergische new ser., xxi (1912)).Viadana,in a Vierteljahrsheftfi'rLandesgeschichte, note in the Bassogenerale chori perlorganobook of his Salmia quattro (Venice, 1612),recommends 'Cometti storti'('crooked'cornetts) for C2 and C3 parts in two of the four choirs. Praetorius, however, disliked the instrument (Syntagma musicum,ii, p.36): EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984 515
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Zinck Cornovel Cornettotorto,sonstenCornongenand ist eingrosser baldwieeinS formiret unndist ein QuintTieffer, alss einrechtergemeiner unnd wiewol etzliche meynen,diesergebe nicht mehr alss 11. Zinckh So befindet sichs Thon oderStimmen, undheinfalsett dri'ber: Natiirlicher als diegemeine Zinchen von dennergleichergestald dochanders, 15.Thon so halt sich gibet.Aberweil derResonanz undhornhafftig, gar unlieblich ich mehrdarvon, das man eine Posaun an dessenstad gebrauche. The corno or cornettotorto, also called cornon,is a large cornett, shaped ratherlike an S, and is a 5th lower than the ordinarycornett; and although some maintain that it has no more than 11 natural notes, and no falsetto above, this in fact not the case, for just like the ordinarycornett it has 15 notes. But because the resonance is quite unlovely and horn-like, I consider it better to use a trombone in its place. The range he gives for the instrument (ibid,p.22) is c/d-d", while Zacconi (op cit, f.218v) gives the narrowerrange up to g'. '30Virgiliano, op cit, pp.[102-3] Syntagmamusicum,ii, p.36 '31Praetorius, 132Marini, op cit (1629) allows certain alto or tenor parts to be sung an 133Praetorius octave up by a boy (Syntagmamusicum, iii, p.158) and Viadana suggests performinga C3 part'con Violini all'ottava'(Salmia quattro chori,(Venice, 1612)). Ich dankedem Schiitz's reworkingof G. Gabrieli'sLieto 134In godeat (see n.58) the instrumentssimply double the voices, mostly up Herrn JubilateDeoa 10 (Symphoniae sacrae... an octave, and in G. Gabrieli's liber secundus (Venice, 1615) a cornett doubles a lower part two octaves higher. for example, Praetorius,Syntagmamusicum,ii, p.22. 135See, 136The range in the other movement of the Magnificata 7 in which the instrumentappears,'Sicut locutus est', is similar,but with some written top d's. 'trombone doppia' is a lower instrument than 137Praetorius's Monteverdi's music requires, but he also describes the more common 'Quart-Posaun',a 4th or 5th below the ordinary (tenor) trombone, with a normal range of over two octaves down from c'; this seems most suited for Monteverdi'smusic. (Syntagma musicum, ii, pp.31-2.) semitone extension is shown by the figure '5' in the 138This tablatures found in GasparoZannetti, Il scolaro(Milan, 1645) 139Bar 49, violin II 140For example, in only three passages in Selva morale 1411t occurs in one passage in Selva morale, in one bar in the et guerrienr posthumous Messa et salmi, and just once in Madrigali amorosi(Venice, 1638). The instrumental parts Malipiero prints in le opere, di Poppea(Tutte Act II, scene 3 of Lincoronazione xiii, pp. 13034) come from the Naples manuscript--the 'autograph'has a bass line and blank staves above-so the d"' cannot be cited as Monteverdi's. 142Marini,Affettimusicali(Venice, 1617) 143Marini,Sonate,symphonie... e retornelli (Venice, 1629) 144Buonamente, II quartolibro de varie sonate, sinfonie,gagliarde, e Brandi(Venice, 1626) corrente, dellecanzonidasuonare(c1631-3; Venice, 145Merula,IIsecondolibro 2/1639) 1615). There are 16 parts labelled 'violino', of which 146(Venice, four go beyond c'";three of these are in the GI clef and have d"' as their top note, while the remaining one, evidently in the otherwise usual G2 clef, also has an e"'. Grantedthe loose terminologyof the period and the youthfulness of the violin family in the early 1600s, one must at least consider the possibility that these parts were intended for Praetorius's'KleinDiscant Geig',tuned a 4th above the instrumentmusicum, common violin (Syntagma ii, p.26 and Theatrum orum,pl.XXI).Pace D. D. Boyden ('Monteverdi'sVioliniPiccoli and vi (1958-63)), the 'violini Annales musicologiques, Violeda Braccio', piccoli alla francese' in Act II of Monteverdi'sOrfeocould well be that instrument. However,Zacconi, in a slightly confusing passage 516 EARLY MUSIC NOVEMBER 1984
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(op cit, f.218), says that 'per artificio & giuditio' (through skill and judgement)the violin's range of a 17th can be extended by 'some' extra notes; it does not follow, though, that these notes would (cf. Praetorius's appearin compositions or even occur in performance Mersenne exceptionallow notes for the bass voice, above).(Similarly, (opcit, p. 179) observes that 'excellent violinists ... can ascend each string up to the octave'.) in stil modemo. . libroprimo Castello, Sonate concertate 147Dario (Venice, 1621) and librosecondo(Venice, 1629) Canzonioverosonate concertate per chiesa e camera... 148[Merula,] libroterzo(Venice, 1637) '49Elsewhere Monteverdiwrites down to C in the bassusgeneralis, too; the note was generally available on Italian organs of the time. above and n.25. 15oSee op cit, p.71 '•5Kurtzman, 152See H. S. Powers, 'Tonal types and modal categories in Renaissance polyphony, JAMS,xxxiv (1981), p.467. Sacraecantiunculae (Venice, 1582) '53Monteverdi, for example, C. V. Palisca, 'TheArtusi-MonteverdiContro'54See, ed. D. Arnold and N. Fortune Companion, versy', The Monteverdi (London, 1968), pp. 133-66.
In EARLYMUSIC February 1985 Jeffrey Kurtzman will add some reflections on pitch in Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610
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